Visiting an award winning housing development in Essex, Housing Minister Mark Prisk said that he wants builders to make greater use of techniques including off site manufacturing.
He urged builders to examine how new opportunities to construct homes off site, and working closely with the local community, can help them build new, more environmentally friendly homes more quickly and efficiently.
His comments came as he visited Newhall:Be, a development of 84 new homes in Harlow, Essex. The site was declared the Supreme Winner at the Housing Design Awards and shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for the way in which its innovative design gives residents greater space, and natural light.
The barn style roofs were constructed off site and give owners the opportunity to expand their home should they wish to, while the structure is timber framed, making it quicker to build. In fact, as a result of using these methods, the time spent building the new homes on the development was reduced by six weeks compared with using more conventional building techniques.
And, thanks to local support, a further 300 family homes on the site have now been given the go ahead, while four self builders have already made Newhall the site of their new home.
‘I’m determined we take every possible step to get Britain building, and what I’ve seen at Newhall:Be is a shining example of what can be achieved, using innovative building techniques to do exactly that,’ said Prisk.
‘I would urge developers to work together to make the most of innovations like off site manufacture to build quickly, efficiently and to a high standard of design,’ he explained.
‘This, on top of the billions we’re investing to deliver the fastest rate of affordable house building for two decades, will help us deliver the thousands of homes this country needs,’ he added.