A report published showing how production in the timber frame industry can play a major role in helping solve the housing crisis has been welcomed by insulation specialist, Actis
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for the timber industry says the government must commit to a long-term investment to give individual timber frame companies and producers the confidence to ramp up production.
The report, ‘How the Timber Industries Can Help Solve the Housing Crisis’, reveals how speed plays a vital role in enabling the government to meet its housing targets and how the ecological imperative of using timber, rather than man-made materials, can protect the environment.
Actis sales director, Mark Cooper, an advocate for increasing offsite production, said: “I hope the evidence in the report combined with the appointment last week of Mark Farmer as government MMC champion will create a change in the construction industry.
“We work with a good many timber framers in the UK. Offsite production is much quicker than brick and block, making it an ideal way to build the homes we so desperately need here.
“It also presents a solution to the fact that we simply do not have enough skilled tradespeople to build traditional houses. And of course, they can be very energy efficient.”
Government housebuilding targets
The report states that the current government target of 300,000 new homes per year is simply not achievable without a change to the mechanism by which homes are delivered.
Another report from the Home Builders Federation estimates £38bn of economic growth is generated by housebuilding each year in England and Wales.
The economic benefit of each home built in the UK has been estimated as twice the cost of construction. This is due to job creation, increased council tax revenue, spending in local shops and services and investment in local infrastructure.
Chair of the group, Martin Whitfield, added: “All the elements required to increase timber frame production are in place – with the exception of a long-term commitment by government to invest in the industry.
“We are in the midst of a climate emergency and this requires fundamental changes to our built environment and our future infrastructure. Housebuilding should be part of an environmental revolution that is firmly integrated into our net-zero emissions targets.
“Using timber will sequester carbon within homes for generations and is markedly more environmentally friendly than other core building materials such as concrete.”
The Structural Timber Association (STA) adds that there is enough immediate capacity to create an additional 100,000 homes a year in the UK.
