North East housebuilder Homes by Carlton is to trial an innovative modular house style that could have a major impact on the new homes market
Homes by Carlton is currently building two of the new modular house designs on its latest site at Cathedral Gates, a mix of 14 three and four-bed detached and semi-detached homes at Chilton, eight miles from Durham City.
These new-style designs – called CoreHaus – will significantly reduce construction times, build costs and have less impact on the environment than more traditional homes. They offer the flexible combination of being part modular, with a standard, engineered core, which can then be configured to different sizes.
While different in the build stage, the new modular house designs look the same as the more traditionally built homes at Cathedral Gates.
Simon Walker, managing director at Homes by Carlton, said: “The CoreHaus looks no different to the traditional house types once fully built. Interiors can be the same and exteriors will use the same block and brick. It’s just a more modern way of building that should be kinder to the environment and have energy benefits for the homebuyer.”
CoreHaus is a joint-venture company between Carlton & Co Group, the parent company behind Homes by Carlton, and national social enterprise Fusion21. It is hoped that once trialled and tested the CoreHaus designs will offer a different approach to tackling the shortage of innovative, affordable housing in Britain.
Walker, added: “It is well-known that there’s a huge shortage of high quality, and affordable homes in the North East and other areas of the UK. That’s why we recently returned to the housing market to deliver high quality homes in attractive locations around the region.
“CoreHaus homes are designed to make it easier and more cost-effective for developers to deliver environmentally efficient homes with a unique design and contemporary feel. They’re larger than many new three-bedroom homes on the market and we believe offer a higher standard of finish than many traditional house types being built elsewhere.”
Walker, concluded: “While these first prototypes sees CoreHaus develop the modular core on site, the long term vision is that the core will be developed offsite as we progress with the product in the North East.”
Assembled in factory-controlled conditions, this energy-efficient housing ‘pod’ can help reduce onsite construction time by 50%, increase flexibility in the design of the home and cut CO2 emissions.
Dave Neilson, chief executive of Fusion21, said: “Currently 340,000 new homes are needed to be built each year to meet government targets. At current development rates these shortfalls will not be met. A transformational approach is required to ensure we can support this demand – and that’s where CoreHaus can help.
“Our unique construction method delivers faster build times and makes it economically viable for developers while greatly reducing environmental impacts.”
