ilke Homes has partnered with Vistry Partnerships to deliver 32 modular homes to the former Blackberry Hill Hospital site in Bristol, as part of a major housing development
The new housing development will form part of Vistry Partnerships’ wider regeneration project of the 21-acre site, which will include 346 homes as well as retail and start-up business units, a community building and extensive green spaces.
Vistry Partnerships opted to use modern methods of construction (MMC) for part of the housing development, due to the significant speed, quality and energy-efficiency benefits that offsite manufacturing delivers.
Offsite manufacturing
The homes will be manufactured at ilke Homes’ 250,000 sq ft factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, before being completed on the Bristol site in December.
The total delivery time for the 32 homes is expected to be four months, roughly half the time it would take using traditional construction methods.
The regeneration deal marks ilke Homes’ first scheme in the South West since the June opening of its Bristol office, following the company’s recent regional expansion which also saw ilke Homes open new offices in Birmingham and London.
Long-term strategic plans
Homes England has signalled its commitment to using MMC to quickly upscale housing delivery after it invested £30m into ilke Homes in November 2019.
Matthew Bench, executive director of partnerships at ilke Homes, said: “Offsite manufacturing has a key role to play to kickstart the economy and to quickly build the high-quality, energy-efficient homes that are needed across the country.
“Working with Vistry Partnerships demonstrates the confidence that leading developers have in the quality of our homes and the speed at which we can deliver them. We are thrilled to be working with Vistry and to be a part of its long-term strategic plans.
“As we scale-up our Bristol office we will continue to look for more exciting housing opportunities in the South West and beyond.”
Craig Currie, managing director of Vistry Partnerships West, added: “This project really is about true partnership and regeneration, working with a range of partners and using our expertise to transform these redundant buildings into a fantastic new community.
“We’re really pleased to be working with ilke Homes, using innovative modern methods of construction to accelerate the delivery of the new homes, meaning we can bring forward affordable homes for local people faster.”
