Insulation specialist Actis has welcomed the establishment of a Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Taskforce, announced in this month’s Budget
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) MMC Taskforce, backed by £10m of seed funding, is aimed at accelerating the delivery of offsite homes across the UK and will work closely with local authorities.
The move follows the publication in the autumn of a report co-authored by the government’s MMC champion Mark Farmer.
The report, ‘Build Homes, Build Jobs, Build Innovation’, called on the government to set a target for 75,000 homes a year to be built using modular construction by 2030 – 25% of its overall target of 300,000 homes annually.
Actis works with many timber frame specialists and is a great believer in the benefits afforded by offsite construction – speed of delivery, thermal efficiency and a way to counter the effects of a smaller than desired skilled workforce.
Improving delivery speed, the skills gap and thermal efficiency
“As well as enabling us to create more homes in less time, the fabric of the buildings means they can perform better thermally. The airtight envelope means they can consume less energy and leak less heat and can thus help the UK reach its 2050 net zero carbon target,” says Actis UK and Ireland sales director, Mark Cooper.
“Because they are quicker to build – around 30% faster than their traditional counterparts – this also goes some way towards addressing the construction skills gap.”
