- Announcement means modular housing pioneer now
committed to delivering a pipeline in excess of 3,000 affordable homes
across the UK
- Scheme on Harrow Lane to deliver much-needed affordable
housing in Hastings, where house prices have skyrocketed by 17 percent in
the last 12 months
- Follows news that ilke Homes has raised £60 million
from the public and private sectors to become a top ten housebuilder
within five years
Leading modular housing pioneer ilke Homes has secured a 12.4-acre site in
Hastings, East Sussex for the development of up to 140 factory-built homes.
Subject to planning consent, the development will deliver a mix of
apartments and houses, ranging in sizes from one to four bedrooms – all of
which will be made available for either affordable rent or shared ownership.
The announcement marks the company’s continued expansion in the South East
region, where it is already committed to delivering in excess of 800 homes
across a number of sites and follows news that ilke Homes has raised £60
million in a recent fundraise from investors across the public and private
sectors – including Homes England, Asda owners TDR Capital, Sun Capital and The
Guinness Partnership.
Following a competitive tender process, Hastings Borough Council chose ilke
Homes to develop the site due to the company’s ability to demonstrate best
value, accelerated delivery and high levels of sustainability.
The site, located on Harrow Lane, will be the fourteenth ilke homes has
secured to deliver as part of its turnkey offering – by which it acquires land,
gains planning permission, manufactures the homes and develops the site. By
taking charge of the full construction programme, ilke Homes is able to provide
councils and clients with certainty that sites will be delivered on time and to
budget.
Thanks to supply and demand mismatches, generous tax breaks from the
Government and changing buyer trends as a result of Covid-19, house prices in
Hastings have skyrocketed over the last year, rising by a staggering 17
percent. Average house prices in the region currently stand at
£281,927, representing a 21 percent jump on the 2018 peak of £238,226.
Price rises, combined with revised price caps for the Government’s Help to
Buy equity scheme, mean that thousands of families and would-be buyers remain
locked out of home ownership.
Precision-engineering techniques mean that ilke Homes will be able to
deliver the 140 affordable homes in half the time of traditional methods,
thanks to most of the construction stage taking place offsite. By manufacturing
offsite, the homes delivered will be of the highest quality, as ilke Homes is
able to benchmark standards at numerous stages of the build cycle.
Once complete, the homes and complementing open spaces will be managed by a
national registered provider of affordable homes.
A Reserved Matters application will be submitted to the local council in
November, with ilke Homes aiming to commence on site by autumn 2022. Practical
completion of the first homes will follow from spring 2023 onwards.
Tom Heathcote,
executive director of development at ilke Homes, said:
“ilke Homes is increasingly becoming a partner of choice for local
authorities looking to scale up the delivery of energy-efficient, affordable
housing, and this deal is testament to that. Our accredited modular methods of
delivery will ensure that these homes help Hastings Borough Council, who in
2019 declared a climate emergency, meet carbon reduction targets while
simultaneously delivering well in excess of the 40 percent policy compliant
provision of affordable housing required by the outline planning
permission.
“We look forward to working with both local planning officials and other
stakeholders to finalise plans for what will be a truly well-designed community
that will be providing much-needed affordable housing for the area.”
Cllr Andy Batsford,
lead councillor for housing at Hastings Borough Council, said:
“With land owned by the council available for housing and development in
short supply it was essential that we found like-minded partners who can
deliver the type of homes we as a town desperately need, namely truly
affordable ones.
“We are really excited to see a new provider in town delivering just that – 70 affordable rented homes which will be allocated to our local people and families on the housing list who will be able to move into energy efficient, modern, well designed secure homes. Hastings Borough Council is determined to deliver on its promise of 500 affordable rented homes and this is a great start and look forward to seeing those Hastings families move in very soon."
