A joint venture between the government’s Homes England, Sekisui House and Urban Splash has delivered the first modular homes at the new town of Northstowe
The homes will be part of a Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) research project.
Each Town House home has been created by House by Urban Splash, a company backed by a £90m deal between the government’s housing agency, Urban Splash, and Japan-based Sekisui House.
The Town House homes are the first of 406 MMC homes that will form the new community of Inholm on Homes England land at Northstowe.
Inholm is one of a number of sites that will form part of Homes England’s 1,500 home research study into MMC to drive innovation in the construction industry.
The arrival of the homes marks a significant milestone for the agency’s 2019 joint venture with Sekisui House and House by Urban Splash, and further cements its commitment to MMC housing.
The study will test the performance of different types of MMC to provide long-term, in-depth and verifiable data so that informed decisions about emerging construction technologies can be made.
The Town House homes at Inholm use approximately 67% less energy to build compared to an equivalent traditional built project and contain energy-saving features including high-quality insulation, super energy-efficient windows and LED lighting, a hot water cylinder with an integrated airforce heat pump and clean, emission-free electric heating.
Creating a new community
Chris Shaw, delivery director for House by Urban Splash, said: “We really are pleased to bring our first homes to Inholm.
“Each of these Town House homes has been created to the highest quality standards in our factory; we then carefully transport each floor – known as a module – to site via road, before craning it into place.
“We’ve been pioneering this concept for a few years now, delivering homes in this way to customers in Manchester, Birmingham, North Shields and Salford.
“It’s great to extend that offering and bring the first modular homes to this new neighbourhood. We cannot wait to see customers move in here and for this new community to flourish as a great place to live, work and play.”
Gordon More, chief investment officer for Homes England, said: “Seeing our groundbreaking joint venture with Sekisui House and Urban Splash deliver the first MMC homes on our land at Northstowe is a proud moment for everyone at Homes England.
“This ambitious partnership and the creation of a new community of more than 400 MMC homes at the new town is a real statement of our intent to support MMC, encourage new entrants into the market and support the creation of sustainable neighbourhoods where they’re needed most.”
