EDAROTH, a subsidiary of engineering, design and project management consultancy Atkins recently highlighted the scale and opportunity of ‘brownfield sites’ as a key part in tackling England’s social housing crisis with offsite manufacture an important element.
The white paper report ‘Unlocking Brownfield Land - A Social Housing First Policy’, found that there are almost 18,000 sites across the country, with the capacity to support the development of at least one million dwellings. With the most recent social housing waiting lists suggesting there is a need for about 1,114,000 homes, brownfield sites clearly offer a significant opportunity for the Government to develop affordable homes using faster, low-cost construction methods which are suitable for dealing with the unique challenges of building on brownfield sites.
With a driving ambition of Everybody Deserves A Roof Over Their Head (EDAROTH), it is offering a new way to tackle the social and affordable housing challenge by developing offsite manufacturing techniques to deliver sustainable homes that also enhance communities and boost long-term living.
“Due to the advances in modern methods of construction,” says EDAROTH Managing Director Mark Powell. “Brownfield land previously deemed too difficult to develop presents a unique opportunity to deliver social housing within existing communities. This will provide truly affordable homes with access to education, employment and opportunity, allowing people to live their lives in communities where they can prosper. To meet the challenge to provide the social housing that is needed across the UK, central and local government need to continue to embrace new ways to tackle the social housing crisis and innovative approaches including modern methods of construction and offsite manufacturing.”
In 2018 around 169,000 homes were built, of which only 17% (29,000) were delivered for social housing. In the same year there were 1,114,477 households on housing waiting lists, representing 4.04% of England’s households. Research carried out by Heriot-Watt University on behalf of the National Housing Federation ‘State of the nation’ report, published in September 2019, estimated 8.4 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes.
EDAROTH’s report calls for ‘accelerated growth in social housing and a renewed focus on brownfield land development’, including: the adoption of offsite manufacturing techniques to accelerate the delivery of new homes across the UK and enable the development of brownfield land previously deemed too difficult to develop. The report picks out offsite construction in particular as a key tool to providing new communities quickly, noting that offsite developments unlock small parcels of brownfield land that traditional developers often find too difficult and expensive to consider.
“In England alone it has been estimated that we need to deliver at least 300,000 new homes a year – a target not achieved in almost half a century,” adds Mark Powell, Managing Director, EDAROTH. “In addition, England needs to deliver 90,000 new homes every year for social/affordable rent – levels not achieved since 1980. We believe brownfield sites offer the potential to tackle social housing waiting lists across the country, providing development space for affordable homes in the places people and families originate, work and want to live.”
EDAROTH is currently delivering a pilot scheme with Lambeth London Borough Council. The four modern and spacious family homes that are in close proximity to transport links and local services, have unlocked a parcel of brownfield land previously deemed unsuitable for housing. The Hillside Gardens development in Streatham Hill was delivered as a pilot scheme using EDAROTH’s MetroHome housing product
The Hillside Gardens development – which is situated at the rear of existing council-owned properties on the Hillside Gardens Estate – was previously occupied by a derelict garage block but now adds four new homes to Lambeth Council’s housing stock which will be rented at council level rents. Cllr Matthew Bennett, Cabinet Member for Planning, Investment and New Homes, said: “Lambeth Council is committed to delivering a new generation of social housing in the borough, to tackle Lambeth’s housing crisis and support the thousands of families on our waiting list. I’m delighted to see the completion of this latest project which contributes to meeting that goal.”
MetroHome is part of a suite of EDAROTH products which includes houses and apartments of different typologies designed to suit varying client requirements. EDAROTH also provides end-to-end development solutions which focus on delivering social and affordable housing at the point of need. This approach prioritises brownfield and under-utilised land within existing communities sees the landowner typically retain the land, assets and ongoing rental income.
EDAROTH has also recently become part of a £1 billion housing framework in Wales. Under the four-year agreement, EDAROTH will work with local authorities and housing associations to help meet housing targets through the provision of design and engineering expertise and the use of offsite construction. “There is a pressing need for affordable homes in the UK and elsewhere – this global challenge is a long-standing problem which will only be solved through innovation and new ways of working," says Philip Hoare, President, Atkins, Engineering, Design & Project Management, SNC-Lavalin. “Our place on this framework is a significant milestone for EDAROTH as we look to work with in partnership with clients to deliver carefully considered, sustainable housing developments which benefit from cutting edge digital design, offsite manufacture and assembly.”
Unlocking Brownfield Land
The EDAROTH white paper calls for accelerated growth in social housing and a renewed focus on brownfield land development including:
- Central and local government to build new social homes where they retain the land and asset to ensure the delivery of social housing and provide income through an increase in gross domestic value (GDV) and subsequent rental incomes
- ‘Social housing first’ policy for the development of brownfield land, providing truly affordable homes in the places people and families originate, work and want to live
- Urgent prioritisation of brownfield land, supported by existing infrastructure, which demonstrates clear societal and economic value
- Incentives for local authorities and developers to develop brownfield land with 100% delivery of social housing
- Increased central government funding and assistance to reduce the cost of land remediation which reduces risk and encourages new entrants
- Adoption of modern methods of construction including offsite manufacturing techniques to accelerate the delivery of new homes across the UK and enable the development of brownfield land previously deemed too difficult to develop
- Procurement reform to create innovative and dynamic frameworks which encourage new entrants and support new and emerging housebuilding solutions which can accelerate the delivery of new homes across the UK
- Collaboration across central government, government agencies, local authorities, professional bodies and the housing industry – to create shared value ambition and goals to meet the social housing challenge and build
For more information and to download a copy of ‘Unlocking Brownfield Land - A Social Housing First Policy’ visit: www.edaroth.co.uk
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