Rural matters - CPRE

Would you consider a Prefabricated home?

Proposal for Boklok UK Housing Estate CGI

We’ve come a long way since the temporary post-war emergency housing gave prefabricated a bad name, says Rupert Hardy, chair of North Dorset Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE)

Some of us still remember the stigma surrounding ‘prefab’ housing. In the post-war years, prefabricated homes were seen as a temporary solution to the housing crisis. Many weren’t intended to last more than a decade, were poorly made and insulated ... but surprisingly are still standing. Their lack of appeal was also related to British housebuilding’s traditional use of brick and stone, rather than northern Europe’s use of wood, which lends itself to prefabrication. Building standards have moved on considerably since the 1940s when an indoor bathroom was considered a luxury. Modular homes on sale today are energyefficient, built to last and quick to assemble. CPRE often complains about excessive housing targets, but there is clearly a need for more genuinely affordable and social housing. Modular homes should be 10-20% cheaper than traditionally built homes, once scale economies have been achieved. Although there are few on sale in North Dorset now, this is likely to change.

The eco credentials

We are of course also faced with a climate emergency and modular homes can boast eco-friendly credentials, using sustainable materials and construction methods, incorporating features such as enhanced insulation, solar panels and heat pumps. Many are made of wood, the most sustainable building material with the lowest carbon footprint. They are therefore more environmentally friendly and cheaper to run. Off-site construction also requires fewer builders, thus addressing one of the housing industry’s major challenges. Modular building offers a lower carbon footprint as there are fewer lorry deliveries to the site, which has a pleasant knock-on effect of people living nearby being less affected. In other European countries such as Germany, factorymade modular homes are

“Building standards have moved on considerably since the 1940s, when an indoor bathroom was considered a luxury”

RURAL MATTERS - monthly column from the CPRE common. In Sweden more than 80% of detached houses use prefabricated timber elements.

Flat pack housing?

Things are changing here in the UK too, and political support is also growing. Of the 200,000 homes built in the UK each year, only 15,000 are modular but it is anticipated that this will now start to rise rapidly. Insurance giant Legal & General have opened a factory in Leeds, with the intention of producing 4,000 units a year; housing associations are expected to be major customers. Worthing Council in Sussex have signed up with BoKlok, a company jointly owned by IKEA, to build 162 flats on its own land - 70% of the properties are being sold using its innovative affordability model, which analyses how much residents can afford after tax and monthly living costs have been deducted. Standard features will include heat pumps and enhanced insulation. In the East Midlands at Inholm, Urban Splash are building 400 modular homes with heat pumps that use 67% less energy to build compared to a traditionally built unit. Sleepy Dorset may be slow to emulate other authorities, but even here change is expected soon. Many peoples’ sons and daughters trying to get a foot on the housing ladder deserve no less. For many, the future will be prefrabricated.

Urban Splash are building 406 modular homes at Inholme, in the Midlands, with 60% being affordable housing, including 60 homes for older persons. The development won the prestigious National Housing Design Awards 2020. Buyers can configure the internal layouts to create their own space before being precision-built in the company’s factory, fitted with bathrooms and kitchens and delivered and assembled in just a few days.

COMPETITION

Rename the old Legends Nightclub – and win a prize worth up to £800!

Can you find the right name for the new inflatable soft play world at the old Legends Nightclub in Gillingham? If so, you could win a year’s family membership, plus a family party – including food – together worth up to £800!

Like so many businesses, the team from the Gillingham Community and Leisure Trust (GCLT), who run Riversmeet, were devastated by the effects of the lockdowns. These were already troubling times for the Three Rivers Partnership (the charity which oversees GCLT), and it was hard to see a path forwards for the business – but here we are in 2022, not just surviving but thriving again. Covid quickly showed the team the weaknesses in their business model, and in the services being provided to the community. A new way needed to be found to enable the business to expand and survive over the next 20 years, and last summer a new Community Interest Company was formed.

Legends

Called Thrive Services CIC, its only purpose is to deliver valuable services to the community that it serves. With the survival of Riversmeet forming the cornerstone of its business plan, the team have now started to undertake several exciting new local projects, highest of which is the redevelopment of the Legends building on Brickfields Industrial Estate. The site, which has been empty for a few years now, was generously offered to the team by its owners, and with their full support Thrive has been able to start work on what will be a new community facility. Complimenting the services already in place at Riversmeet, the new facility – which hasn’t been named yet (your chance to name it is below!) – will initially focus its activities on the children of the town and their parents. Phase 1 of the project will offer a huge new indoor soft play area, party rooms and a café for parents. Phase 2, which will be completed after an extension has been built to the original building, will offer a new health and fitness space which will compliment the existing gym at Riversmeet.

Choose the name - and win!

Over the coming months we’ll be happy talk to the community and answer any questions… but right now we’re asking the community to name our new facility – much like we did when Riversmeet was built back in 2008. To be in to win, just click the image to go to the website, scrol down and answer the first three questions in the widget box at the bottom of the page. The closing date for this competition is 15th April 2022 and only entries received on or before that date can be included. Good luck!