The Midlands has the chance to become a national centre for modular housing production, an industry expert has said.
Mick Ciotkowski, project manager at the University of Wolverhampton's Construction Futures Research Centre, said the region's wide range of expertise and a central location made it an ideal place to develop the next generation of housebuilding.
"This region can become a national centre for offsite construction," said Ciotkowski. "This is a key area for construction technology, it has lots of expertise and its location and transport connections are a great advantage."
Modular – or offsite - construction allows developers to create schemes more quickly, cost-effectively and environmentally friendly.
Major developers have created a number of factories in the region in recent years. These include housing association Accord, which has one in Walsall; Urban Splash, which has a site in Alfreton, Derbyshire and Countryside Properties, which has a timber-frame plant in Leicester and is about to open another close to junction 22 of the M1.
Business leaders say the region's automotive sector has many practices and skills which are transferable to the modular building industry.
"The modular construction sector could learn quite a lot from the motor industry", added Chris Spiceley, director of developments and delivery optimisation at housing association Places for People, which manages modular homes at the Port Loop residential scheme in Birmingham.
"The building sector has a problem with skills shortages and we also need to create an environment for people to work more efficiently. Modular construction can address this."
Ciotkowski and Spiceley will both be speakers at Insider's Midlands Residential Property Conference on Friday 11 December, which will focus on modular construction.
The virtual conference takes place from 9.20am.
Housing minister Christopher Pincher will give a keynote speech, which will touch on modern methods of construction, as well as reform of the planning system and carbon reduction targets.
Other speakers include Keith Carnegie, chief executive of Vistry Housebuilding, owner of Bovis Homes and Linden Homes; Kevin McHugh, director of pre-construction at developer and investor Greystar and Adam Daniels, West Midlands managing director at timber-frame housebuilder Countryside Properties.
Original Source: Insider Media
