Make UK Modular launched in December 2021 as the voice of volumetric modular housebuilders. Head of policy Steve Cole discusses the state of play for the sector and the outlook for delivering greener, faster, better homes
Since officially launching in December 2021, Make UK Modular has quickly established itself as the voice of advanced modular housing manufacturers in the UK. Our membership now accounts for about three-quarters of the category 1 output (about 1 in 50 homes built in the UK) and is growing.
Setting up a new trade body inevitably involves a lot of ‘start up’ work but, despite our newcomer status, we have achieved a great deal.
We have already established good working relationships with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and Homes England. We’ve been busy briefing wider policymakers, including ministers and shadow ministers. Admittedly, there’s been quite a few movers and shakers in the political arena recently, but we’ve been ensuring that the voice of Make UK Modular is heard.
Given that the perception of UK modular housing is an immediate and pressing issue, we’ve also been working with backbench MPs, inviting them to parliamentary drop-in sessions to learn a bit more – for many of them it was the first time they have encountered modular.
We have submitted written evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee and the House of Lords committees on land use in England and the built environment. Our work has been cited in two of their published reports and is helping to shape policy around modular housing.
Because advanced modular is so new, there is still a lot that industry, government and the public don’t know about it – or indeed the opportunities it offers.
We’ve been busy collating evidence from members to understand the sector’s capacity, production levels, projections and investment to date. We are now following this up with a more detailed study into modular, which we plan to launch at party conferences, so watch this space.
We’ve been taking every opportunity to push our core messages, including at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Housing 2022 Conference. We joined panels to discuss how modular is creating green jobs, how it helps level up by building homes and creating jobs in one region while delivering homes in another. And of course, how modular goes some way to fixing the housing crisis we face here in the UK.
Cutting-edge building technologies
Having grown five-fold since 2016, advanced modular is projected to keep growing steadily. Our forecasts suggests that we could build about 25,000 modular homes between now and 2024. We have the capacity to grow further, at its maximum potential we could be making over 22,000 modular homes in 2024 alone.
TopHat has just broken ground on the largest modular factory in Europe – situated at Corby, it will have the capacity to build 4,000 homes a year. Not only will this drive up housing supply and reduce the costs of modular further, it will also provide hundreds of skilled jobs, boosting levelling up.
And these aren’t just any homes, they are greener homes. Vision Modular has built the tallest modular building in Europe (at 44 storeys) and research has shown that it contains over 40% less embodied carbon than an equivalent traditional build. Ilke has just launched the country’s first zero-bill homes, where occupants are guaranteed not to pay a penny on their energy bills.
Modular homes are built faster – some of our members can now build homes on an assembly line in a matter of weeks. They are better homes too. Factory engineering and assembly line quality control means that modular homes are built with greater consistency and fewer snags than traditionally built houses. Cutting-edge technologies to build innovative houses aren’t just being used in Berlin and Tokyo, they are being used in Corby and Selby.
Removing barriers to greener, better homes
Greener, faster and better homes are the way forward. Modular is the future. But we can only hit these forecasts with the right tools in place and with the remaining barriers removed.
We want to see the government enhance housebuilding sustainability by introducing a more robust commitment to and targets for net zero in the housing sector and fast-tracking planning for net zero homes.
We also want to see modular more fully embedded in the Affordable Homes Programme, with government dedicating 40% of the AHP to modular and half of this to Category 1.
Finally, we want to see a modular capacity strategy that links new factory location, high housing demand areas and levelling up priority regions.
We set up Make UK Modular because we see the potential for modular housebuilding – to help us transition to net zero, to help us level up, to help us fix the housing crisis. The sector needed a clear and consistent voice, and we hope to play that role. We are now focused on accelerating growth, removing further barriers to growth and building both demand and capacity. As demand continues to grow, industry will too.
Just like the sector we represent; we aren’t going anywhere. For us this is just the beginning.
Steve Cole
Head of policy
Make UK Modular
Tel: +44 (0)808 168 5874
www.makeuk.org/about/make-uk-modular
