Two new companies in the UK have begun producing ready-made homes – built at their factories, then transported and assembled on-site – which could help to plug the UK’s growing housing crisis.
Costing from £65,000, the homes come from factories in Yorkshire: one in Karesborough and one near Leeds. The former is owned by Ilke Homes and aims to deliver 2,000 homes each year. The Leeds-based factory of L&G Modular (owned by insurance company Legal & General) is the first of several that the company plans across the country.
Whereas the government wants builders to deliver 300,000 homes each year, the current level is only around 220,000, with each year of under-production adding to the pressure on prices and availability.
“We want to see 300,000 homes being delivered by the mid-2020s, so we need to scale up and build more, better and faster. And that is precisely what this facility is about,” said James Brokenshire, housing secretary, speaking at the Ilke Homes factory in Knaresborough.
At L&G Modular, chief executive Rosie Toogood commented: “We are building a new industry here, designing in different ways and redefining the housebuilding process. We are changing the supply line, and building at a pace never seen before.”
Instead of the 40 weeks it takes to build a typical British home, these companies can complete the job in just 10 days. The £65,000 cost includes all electrics, plumbing and fully fitted kitchens and bathrooms, though not the cost of land, on-site assembly or connecting the home to services.
