Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust (BMHT), Birmingham City Council’s housebuilding arm, has received planning permission to install its first modular home
To be located in Heaton Street in Hockley, the two-bedroom modular home will include both a parking space and a back garden and is set to be let as social housing.
Birmingham City Council, Councillor Sharon Thompson said: “I am thrilled that BMHT is able to move forward in this way. We have a target to deliver 51,000 more homes by 2031. With high-profile developments like HS2 and Paradise in progress that are set to transform the city and with Birmingham becoming an increasingly attractive place to both businesses and families alike, the need for high quality, affordable housing will only increase.
“Embracing innovation in housebuilding techniques like this means that we can reduce the average time it takes to build a single-family house from around six to seven months to just over two weeks in the factory. This, most importantly, has a direct impact for the 12,000 people currently on the housing waiting list who are in need of social housing.”
Clive Skidmore, assistant director for housing development at Birmingham City Council added: “In Birmingham, we have a tradition of embracing techniques like offsite manufacturing. This dates back to the post-war era and examples can still be seen of this style across the city in locations like the widely-celebrated Wake Green Road pre-fabs.
“Today, the highest priority for BMHT is to ensure that high-quality social housing remains readily available to meet the needs of Birmingham’s citizens. That’s exactly why we’ve developed our own modular house type, rather than depending on existing external companies. It means that we can specify the design and materials used, ensure that they live up to our aspirations and guarantee that the Birmingham modular home is not seen as a substitute for a traditionally built one.”
