Off Site News

The term MMC Advisor is the new buzz word in construction as the Government seeks to encourage improvement of the productivity of the construction industry by the use of Modern Methods of Construction. This article helps to explain what assistance the MMC Advisor can provide.

Ray O’Rourke is the founder & chief executive of Laing O’Rourke The British economy is facing the greatest contraction we have ever seen and the government got it right last week: the quickest way out of it is to, “build, build, build”. To deliver this desperately needed economic revival, the UK needs an innovative, productive and resilient construction sector. At Laing O’Rourke, we stand ready to play a leading role in transforming the sector and delivering the government’s ambitious plan.

Swan Housing Association/NU living has announced it will open a new offsite factory next year. The new facility will manufacture light gauge steel modular housing and is directly opposite the group’s existing modular facility at Basildon in Essex which currently produces CLT homes. Swan says the second factory will help it meet the government’s MMC targets

The Housing Secretary has made a pledge that at least a fifth of homes planned through the government’s £12bn Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) will be built using modern methods of construction. Robert Jenrick said the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government had made the quota a condition of the £12bn programme announced last month.

Off Site Construction Advice Ltd wishes everyone a Joyful Christmas and a Happy and Successful New Year.

Off Site Construction Advice Ltd wishes everyone a Joyful Christmas and a Happy and Successful New Year.

Work has started on site as Rollalong announces a £6.3M partnership with pioneering regeneration company Be First. Modern methods of construction (MMC) specialist Rollalong has been appointed to design and build 19 modular homes for the London borough of Barking and Dagenham from its 11-acre manufacturing and head office site in Dorset.

Stonewater housing association aims to deliver 1,000 homes in 2020 as it seeks to ramp up its house building activity across the UK. The group, which currently owns and manages 32,000 homes, mainly in the South-west and parts of the North of England, was recently named as one of 14 housing associations that will manage homes being built by Legal & General Homes Ltd

In order to increase capacity and improve patient experience, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) wanted to create a new space for patients who were coming to the end of their hospital stay. Championing a new and exciting approach for patients returning home after treatment, the Trust turned to offsite construction experts Portakabin to deliver its first ever Discharge Suite.

The first-phase report from Martin Moore-Bick’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry has revealed new details of the refurbishment failings that preceded the fire, which cost 72 people their lives. They include the creation of a new architectural crown featuring aluminium composite material(ACM) cladding at the top of the 25-storey building and its replacement windows. Elsewhere, retired judge Moore-Bick’s report sidesteps two key safety features demanded by RIBA – retrofitting fire-suppression systems, such as sprinklers, in buildings taller than 18m and the inclusion of secondary staircases to multiple-occupancy blocks taller than three storeys.

Caledonian Modular, has secured a £4m full turnkey design and build contract with Whittington Health NHS Trust for the provision of clinical education facility.

Developer Sekisui House will use “Japanese expertise” to drive a ten-fold increase in the modular housing output of UK developer Urban Splash, according to the boss of the firm’s UK operation. Japanese housing giant Sekisui House, which built 45,000 homes in Japan last year, took a 35% stake in Urban Splash in May, allowing the Manchester-based firm to continue to develop its modular housing product.

Wates’ M&E arm SES Engineering is to move its offsite manufacturing operations to a brand new Coventry facility called Prism next month. The company said the move from its Prism facility on the Portakabin site in York was as a result of “strong growth” for the business in providing prefabricated mechanical and electrical (M&E) works to buildings, including a state-of-the-art aseptic manufacturing facility for global pharmaceutical company, GSK.

A village in Nottinghamshire is taking a major step into the future of ecological house building with the construction of two innovative eco-estates. Constructed by Gusto Homes, the two estates;Collingham Park and Collingham Brook are at the cutting edge of green residential development. Thought to be the largest housing development in the UK to be heated using geothermal energy, Collingham Park is a residential development with 60 retirement apartments and bungalows. Using geothermal energy from 32 boreholes reaching 120 metres underground, the technology will cut resident’s energy bills by around 75%.

The boss of offsite homes manufacturer Ilke Homes has challenged the government the throw its weight behind modern methods of construction (MMC). As figures were published last week showing house building activity was still on the decline despite the government’s ambitions to ramp up the construction of thousands more homes, Dave Sheridan said ministers had to “lead from the front” and invest in MMC to scale up delivery.

The north of England has the potential to become a world-leader in the creation of modern, high-quality homes the said Housing Minister Esther McVey as she spoke to industry leaders in Sheffield, during a visit to Factory 2050, part of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, where she met with major developers, small businesses and academics as she announces the Government's ambition for a new ‘centre of excellence’ for MMC in the north.

Construction News has obtained figures from government departments that had, in 2017, committed to a ‘presumption in favour of offsite’ methods of construction. By 2019, those figures are underwhelming. Three of these five departments – those overseeing health, transport and defence – have not awarded a single contract with an offsite criterion in the first eight months of 2019. The Ministry of Justice’s one contract awarded so far this year, to Kier for the HMP Wellingborough build, has an 11 per cent weighting for offsite.

Modular building specialist Caledonian, working with ENGIE, has secured a £10m order for new student accommodation at Station Approach, Hereford. The project will provide Hereford College of Arts and the city’s new NMiTE University with 178 student bedrooms each with its own study area and en-suite bathroom, along with other areas of accommodation.

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) offer the opportunity to rethink how homes are designed and built – and speed up delivery of much-needed properties, yet they currently account for only a small percentage of new housing. Is a potential revolution being held back by an outdated planning system? MMC have been touted as a game-changer for a decade,yet only around 10% of new homes are built using them. Most analysis has previously centred on financial and technical barriers but a recently published report from engineering, design and planning specialist Arup argues that the planning system is too rigid and unaccommodating to really drive forward MMC at scale.

Kier has published a report, “The Choice Factory”which examines offsite manufacturing “through the lens of behavioural science”.It is named after behavioural scientist Richard Shotton’s book, which examines how behavioural biases influence the products people buy. Kier’s study says:“The economical and technological benefits of offsite manufacturing have already been widely publicised. What appears more interesting however, is why a rationally beneficial solution, has for too long been irrationally marginalised.

Places for People has announced a pioneering joint venture with Ilke Homes to deliver hundreds of modular homes, as confidence in offsite construction (OSC) grows. In the largest deal yet for Britain’s modular housing sector, Places for People will purchase 750 units from ilke Homes,including 500 for sites it already owns and 250 for new schemes they will partner on to develop affordable and market-priced housing.

Urban Splash has been lined up to build more than 400 homes in the centre of Northstowe new town in Cambridgeshire. Once given planning, Urban Splash said it would be one of the largest sites in the country using modern methods of construction.

The government announced today that Japan’s biggest house builder is set to move into the UK house building market after striking a multi million-pound deal with Homes England and UK developer Urban Splash to build thousands of modular homes via Urban Splash’s new ‘House’ development business.

The Crown Commercial Service has named its favoured 23 firms to deliver a modular buildings revolution for public sector projects. Five big players and 18 SMEs to deliver Government's modular construction programme across big spending departments. The line-up includes five major suppliers – Caledonian,Elliott, McAvoy, Portakabin and Wernick – supplemented with 18 SMEs.

Momentum for rooftop developments is growing. The emerging new London Plan recognises upward residential extension in its small sites policy. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) supports new homes resulting from airspace development. Earlier this week the written ministerial statement by James Brokenshire after the Spring Statement confirmed the Government's plans to take forward a Permitted Development Right “to extend upwards certain buildings in commercial and residential use to deliver additional homes”. Meanwhile further work is being done on the design and technical details considerations that should go hand in hand with this permitted development right.

Following last year’s budget, the chancellor announced that the government would “adopt a presumption in favour of offsite construction”. While a minor footnote in the announcement, it has huge repercussions for the future of the construction industry and how we work. Viewed at its best, this announcement is about leveraging the government’s significant buying power to support the modernisation of the construction sector and an investment in high-quality design and increased performance. On the other hand, it could increase the “race to the bottom” mentality. 

Homes England has agreed £55m of funding dealswith 12 local authorities to deliver 4,000 homes across England, awarded through the government’s £450m LocalAuthority Accelerated Construction (LAAC), and will support local authoritieswith a range of work required to prepare their sites for the development of newhomes such as infrastructure enabling works, planning and technical expertiseand site remediation. The LAAC programme prioritises the use of modern methods of construction, which will increase the pace of delivery across the developments by anaverage of 40%.

A team led by developer Urban Splash and architects Proctor & Matthews is poised to land what's likely to become the UK's largest modular housing scheme this century. While the appointment has yet to be officially signed off, the duo are in line to win a Homes England competition to design and build around 440 homes at Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, the largest new town since Milton Keynes and a 8ha housing-led regeneration scheme, which is part of the 10,000-home development's second phase.

Offsite specialist Extraspace has landed three contracts for extra educational facilities in Oldham. The first at Greenfield Primary School includes a new build after demolition of the old school while at the Oldham North Academy it will provide a new three-storey extension, dining hall extension and refurbishment works. At Crompton House Church Of England School Extraspace will create a new three-storey teaching block and dining hall extension.

Although provision of student accommodation, both in the private sector and University has increased over the last five years,demand for quality accommodation remains high. When considering the provision of purpose built student accommodation timescales are frequently tight, within vestors looking for a quick return on their investment.

Magna Housing has selected Dorset based company Rollalong Ltd to build their next wave of 600 new affordable homes for people to rent and buy. The initial order for over 50 homes with an anticipated value of £8m-£10m is expected to commence in Spring 2019 and this will secure jobs at Rollalong’s permanent off-site construction facility.

We are all familiar with the well-coined phrase, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. But what if it is broken, as with the UK’s housing market where demand is by far outstripping supply? Light gauge steel frame, pre-cast concrete and timber-based systems are being successfully used in construction projects throughout the country delivering multiple efficiencies onsite. It has been demonstrated that these modern materials can speed up the build process and reduce costs.

The demand for new school places and the crumbling state of primary and secondary schools is a pressing issue for Local Councils all over the UK. The situation, however, is starting to improve thanks to Government funding – in 2017 a pot of £2.4 billion was allocated for their improvement and maintenance.

United Living has been appointed as the principal contractor for the development and is working in partnership with PremierModular, who will fabricate the housing units, and William Saunders Architects. A planning application for a fully modular council housing and apartment scheme has been submitted by Leeds City Council and United Living. If approved, the scheme at Leeds Meynell, in Holbeck, will see 28 homes constructed in less than nine months, with the first residents moving in by early 2020. The average construction time for a development of this size is usually nearly two years.

A total of 40 modular homes are set to be built in Birmingham after Homes England agreed a £7.45m loan from the government’s Home Building Fund for a new development by Urban Splash and Places for People. The joint venture will build the first of 1,150 homes at Port Loop on the edge of Birmingham City Centre. While 40 of the homes will be factory built, another 37 will be traditionally constructed on a large brownfield site.

Modular building specialist Caledonian has secured two large school projects in quick succession. Haygrove School in Somerset and The Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Essex have been snapped up after Caledonian offered a full turnkey package including lead design, planning, and installation. Both schools incorporate factory installed concrete floors and up to 96% of the work on each module will be completed by Caledonian factory facility before being delivered to site.

A ‘surge’ in the use of offsite manufacturing in the house building industry has helped to shape a new set of standards from NHBC. The NHBC Standards 2019, which came into force on 1 January 2019, has taken account of advances in the offsite and light steel frame (LSF)sectors. 

The UK is entering a new era of house building with the roll out of fully-fitted three-bedroom homes from the Ilke Homes factory in Yorkshire. Eight houses fitted with kitchens and bathrooms will roll off the production line every day in Knaresborough, to be loaded on to lorries for delivery across the country. Experts have hailed it a revolution in British house building that would slash the 40 weeks it could take to build a traditional home to just 10 days.

Groundworks will start this month on a new modular village in Corby, Northants targeted at London commuters. The 47 homes will be built at Priors Hall Park by modular specialist Project Etopia and will contain 31 houses and 16 apartments with a 4-bed expected to sell for between £320,000 and £350,000.

Higham Lane School, in Nuneaton, which is one of the highest-performing state-funded secondary schools in Warwickshire, planned to provide a direct post-16 progression route for its students for the first time. To achieve this, the school required a new facility to accommodate 300 sixth form students before the start of the new school year which was just six months away.

Heathrow airport will determine which Logistics Hubs are best placed to progress to the final four shortlist in Spring by inviting the sites to expand their bids and complete a prequalification questionnaire (PQQ). Airport delegates have toured facilities across the country, seeing first-hand the potential to transform the country’s infrastructure and construction industries. Each of the 65 sites offer their own unique elements to the project, from their location, transport links, local skills and supply chain, size, regional expertise and business plans.

The government's Department for Education is planning an industry meeting to discuss its plans for a £2bn offsite schools framework. The Department for Education (DfE) plans to set up a four-year framework for the delivery of schools by design for manufacture and assembly and/or offsite methods. It will follow on from the DfE's existing component school frameworks and supplement the existing DfE construction framework.

Tide Construction has reached a milestone in delivering the world's tallest modular towers by completing their core structures. The two towers at 101 George Street in Croydon will be the tallest structures to be built off-site using modular construction methods. They will reach heights of 44 and 38 storeys. Tide's offsite company Vision Modular will now install the fully-fitted modules around the concrete cores.

Social housing landlords Valleys to Coast in South Wales have commissioned Wernick Buildings to deliver eight modular homes for residents just a few miles away from the Wernick factory in Kenfig. Valleys to Coast recently conducted a successful information event in the community and invited members of the public to give their views on the developments and to learn more about the desirable new homes coming to their area.

Homes England has published a five-year plan setting out what it plans to do to help the government meet its target of 300,000 new homes a year being built across the UK by the mid-2020s. The plan lists five priorities: unlocking land, unlocking investment, increasing productivity, driving market resilience and supporting local areas. The push for off site construction come sunder ‘increasing productivity’. A requirement to use modern methods of construction (MMC) will be incorporated in Homes England leases.

Caledonian Modular which won the contract to deliver campus accommodation for workers building the first nuclear power station in the UK for a generation, has completed the construction of the first phase of a major campus development for Hinkley Point C workers.

Birmingham City Council is preparing a modular housing pilot to help free up sites where traditional construction is deemed too difficult or expensive. The council is preparing to launch its BMHT Modular development programme in spring 2019. It will involve the construction of around 50 homes using both volumetric and modular solutions, with a larger roll out programme expected to follow in 2020.

Out-dated and unsustainable business models are hampering the take-up of off-site manufacturing in the construction industry, thwarting the government’s ambition to build 300,000 homes a year by 2020, according to a new report from the House of Lords Science & Technology committee.

A light steel frame solution from Kingspan Steel Building Solution has significantly reduced the construction programme and enhanced the buildability of this high quality student accommodation inNewcastle city centre.

Manchester has been one of the most popular destinations for young people in recent years, but the influx of newcomers has put the city council on the back foot as it strives to meet local needs. One area where the authority is seeing its resources stretched is in the provision of school places. To tackle this, the council has launched an ambitious programme through which main contractor ISG will deliver a raft of new schools and extended early learning facilities using Yorkshire-based offsite specialist Premier Modular.

Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) the independent construction and property consultants have carried out a cost comparison between timber frame and masonry construction in affordable housing. The conclusion was that it is both cheaper and quicker to use offsite.

Housebuilder Countryside will invest £6m in a new timber frame factory in Warrington which is expected to build around 1,500 homes a year. It signed a deal to acquire a site for the factory in May. Modular construction methods are increasingly being used by UK housebuilders to speed up the delivery of new homes, as the main bulk of construction can be done in factories and then the component parts delivered to sites.

Berkeley Homes announced in December last year that it had secured a 160,000 sq ft site in Gravesham for the facility,allowing it to make the transition towards offsite construction. Berkeley appointed contractor Readie Construction to build the factory in Maythis year. Completion of the shell and core of the building is expected inMarch next year, while production is due to start by spring 2020.

Balfour Beatty’s latest policy paper is called “25% by 2025:Streamlined construction - seven steps to offsite and modular building”. Chief executive Leo Quinn argues that while a shift to offsite construction would create efficiencies, it would also create more jobs overall.

It’s time to change perceptions of modern methods of construction, says Brian Ham, Executive Director of Development at Home Group, that is working with several partners to test, monitor and compare a range of offsite methods as part of a live research project in Gateshead. In the last 20-30 years, technology, cars and phones have all advanced dramatically. But houses still look pretty much the same and are still built in pretty much the same way. But if we keep doing things in exactly the same way I’m doubtful that we’ll meet the government’s target of building 300,000 homes – which many people believe is already an underestimate in terms of what we need to tackle the housing crisis.

Building materials distribution giant SIG has sold its modular offsite construction business for £1 to regeneration specialist Urban Splash Modular.

Laing O’Rourke has signed an arrangement with developer Stanhope and housing association Network Homes involving a £200 million investment to transform a former industrial area in Southall, West London which will see the construction of 550 new homes.

Yorkshire is at the forefront of a factory-built homes revolution. The first properties off the production line at the Ilke Homes factory, near Knaresborough, are now open to view. Over in Leeds, CITU is busy creating components for contemporary houses and apartments for its Climate Innovation District development on the edge of Leeds city centre and Legal & General has built a 550,000 sq. ft modular housing factory in Sherburn in Elmet.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has given the go ahead for a 21-storey residential tower planned in south London that will use trailblazing offiste building techniques. The 153-apartment scheme on Addiscombe Road in Croydon, a stone’s throw from Richard Seifert’s 24-storey NLA Tower, known locally as the 50p building because of its resemblance to the shape of the coin, will be one of the tallest of its kind and feature up to 100% affordable housing.

A modular homes manufacturer has launched what is understood to be the first modular construction factory in the North West, leasing a 70,000 sq ft warehouse on Triumph Business Park in Speke.

The world is waking up to the speed, quality and environmental benefits of cross-laminated timber, but what are the limitations and is it really an alternative to concrete or steel? When cross-laminated timber (CLT) first hit the UK scene, back in 2003, it was a little-known, niche material – but its environmental credentials and rapid speed of erection soon grabbed the headlines. But it wasn’t until around five years ago that engineered timber really started to take hold and, thanks in part to falling prices, it has now become a vital component in shaping our cities.

Global Academy approached Portakabin to engineer and build a new permanent 8,700m2 school within a year, which by 2020 would teach over 800 students every year. The building was designed in partnership with architects Surface to Air.

Lewisham Homes, the housing management arm of Lewisham Council, has received planning permission for a 25-home development which will be its first modular cross-laminated timber development.

MTX have completed and handed over a modular Outpatients Department with X-Ray Facilities to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

Modular off-site construction methods hold potential to solve the UK's crippling housing shortage, according to a report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME).

Modular specialist McAvoy has completed work on the £20m Lynch Hill Enterprise Academy in Slough 17 weeks ahead of schedule in only 53 weeks.

Berkeley Group has won planning approval for its new modular housing factory in Ebbsfleet, Kent.

The UK’s largest temporary accommodation scheme has opened in London, using offsite techniques to provide homes for 290 people over the Christmas holidays. Meath Court, in Acton’s Hope Gardens, is a 60-apartment development comprising homes made up of a kit of moveable and reusable parts of UK-produced shipping containers.

Heathrow plans to use its £16bn expansion to drive growth in off-site construction across the UK. The new logistics hubs will pre-assemble components of the expanded airport before transporting them in consolidated loads to Heathrow. One of the benefits is seen as spreading the jobs created by the project across more communities.

The Custom House station in East London will be unique and the design and build will make use of offsite manufacture which requires fewer deliveries and vehicle movements around the site, reducing traffic, noise and effects on air quality. By shifting construction activity from site to the factory working conditions are improved and health and safety risks reduced. The more controlled conditions of the factory also ensure more consistent and higher-quality production.

Arcadis and offsite construction specialist Caledonian have signed a collaborative partnership agreement. Focusing specifically on the residential sector, Arcadis will work with Caledonian to develop new modular designs and to build additional capacity in the commercial and technical delivery of new housing. The use of modular technology is becoming increasingly popular in the residential sector.

Budget documents state that modern methods of construction would be favoured for public infrastructure schemes from 2019. At last the government is recognizing the benefits of off site construction and making the use of it the default position rather than continuing to use traditioanl methods which have consistently failed in many cases to deliver either on time or on budget.

Offsite construction specialist,The McAvoy Group, has craned the final modules into position on site at the new Concordia Academy in Romford for a new building to accommodate 630 primary school children. The structure for the 2972m2 free school was manufactured offsite by McAvoy using the latest modular technology to reduce the build programme, minimise disruption and improve quality. The 67 steel-framed building modules were craned into position in just 12 days.

Ashley House plc is now the majority partner of joint venture business, F1 Modular Limited (F1M), based in Newtown in Powys. F1M designs and constructs community buildings such as housing, student accommodation, fire stations, school classrooms, leisure facilities and hotels, as well as retail units and kiosks.

Keepmoat has launched ILKE Homes, an offsite homes joint venture with Elliott, the modular specialist. This will contribute to the government’s housing supply targets through speed of completion, lack of reliance on limited construction labour and the ability to get around obstacles on stalled sites.

Caledonian has been awarded a position as an approved supplier on the £50m Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) Framework to act as Lead Designer and Principal Contractor for the design and build of new schools, academies, and other educational facilities.

A new report calls on the Mayor of London to use his powers to kick-start a 21st Century housing revolution - offsite manufactured homes, which London could be leading. In the report “Designed, sealed, delivered, the contribution of offsite manufactured homes to solving London's housing crisis” the Planning Committee calls on Mayor Sadiq Khan to create a standard design code for offsite manufactured homes designating public land, resources and planning powers to incentivise the sector.

The new 630-place 2,972m2 three-form entry free school primary school for Concordia Academy in Romford will create an exemplar learning environment for local children, reflecting the academy’s vision and ethos, increasing parental choice, and providing a valuable facility for the community.

Following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower on 14 June, the Education Skills and Funding Agency approached consultancy and construction group Mace and modular experts Portakabin to provide a new building for the pupils of Kensington Aldridge Academy, which is located at the base of Grenfell Tower. The new Kensington Aldridge Academy is now bustling with over 900 students after a build program of just nine weeks. The temporary school which is Portakabin’s biggest emergency response build to date, was constructed off-site and is made up of over 200 individual modules.

Social housing landlord, Valleys to Coast (V2C) and modular building specialist, Wernick Buildings have been awarded Welsh Government funding to build eight modular homes in Bridgend.

The cost of traditional construction is rapidly increasing, there is a generational uncertainty about the availability and cost of skilled labour while at the same time material costs are increasing. Off-site construction offers a less risky alternative, whether it is for housing, education, health or many other construction sectors. This article discusses an alternative approach that industry professional and clients may want to consider in the light of these increased risks.

Reports that volume house builders are actively moving into the use of volumetric modules to build houses suggest that the tide has turned for off-site construction. Two very recent examples of such developments are given in this article.

Recent examples are reported of companies in the industry making significant investments to increase their manufacturing capacity in order to respond to the increased demand from the construction marketplace. These are just the most recent examples of a trend that has been quietly increasing the capacity of the off-site industry over the last few years.

News about the  new CEO for the Legal & General modular housing business, Cleckheaton-based Elite Systems, Buildoffsite's new Interim Director and a new modular housing factory planned for East London.<br>

Richmond Housing Partnership (RHP), a housing association based in Teddington in west London, saw the first new modular homes, manufactured at the L&G factory near Leeds, craned into place recently.The product is made of a cross-laminated timber (CLT) frame and is clad with brick slips.

Caledonian Modular has been awarded the £50m contract to design and build Hinkley Point C campus living accommodation comprising 1,496 en-suite bedrooms.

Europe’s and the world's second tallest modular tower has seen its final module lowered into place. The 29-storey 90 metre high structure is made up of 679 modules and is a student accommodation scheme developed by Tide Construction and Vision Modular Systems. The total build time was 12 months, with the modules being installed in just 13 weeks . The building has a BREAAM rating of Excellent.

Mark Goldsmith, executive search consultant with Collingwood and I met during a recent plant tour at EOS Ltd in Durham and he asked me a number of questions about off site.