TIMBER
TIME TO BUILD AND THINK DIFFERENTLY
The timber industry has long embraced offsite manufacture and is perfectly placed to capitalise on the need for low carbon design and build. David Hopkins, CEO of the UK Timber Trade Federation (TTF) and board member of the Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) explains further.
1 It is time for the UK construction industry to level up. The past four decades are evidence that business as usual will not deliver the number of homes which the UK needs, or the high quality, low carbon solutions which we must embrace to reach net zero by 2050. Low productivity, a lack of investment, an ageing workforce and poor planning have all contributed to the average house costing almost eight times what the average Briton earns, and these forces are set to increase the pressure on the traditional model of housebuilding. Of course, readers of this magazine are aware there are alternatives to timber. Modern methods of construction (MMC) are widely accepted as essential to creating a construction industry and deliver more housing quicker, with a reduced carbon-
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footprint. The timber industry has long embraced offsite with timber frame construction. It is past time that the effectiveness of offsite is being fully recognised by the government, housing associations, local councils and developers. Timber should have a natural advantage in this new policy environment. An emphasis on speed creates a preference for offsite, and emphasis on offsite creates a preference for timber. It is a light, versatile material which lends itself to manufacturing processes. However, the UK construction industry remains slow to change. Entrenched practices, low levels of investment into research and development, lobbying by competitors and low productivity have created an industry which is slow to embrace innovation.
WWW.OFFSITEMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MARCH/APRIL 2020
As voiced recently by Governmentappointed MMC champion Mark Farmer, the volume builder world still views MMC and offsite as unknowns. There is a perception of financial risk, with MMC considered ‘unproven’, and the upfront costs off-putting. I would like to make the point that we can say in the timber industry this is not the case. Structural timber technology is proven, and already accounts for 83% off homes in Scotland, where a healthy, profitable house building industry has thrived for decades. In England the timber frame accounts for 23% of newbuild homes, a number which grows every year thanks to the many examples of timber frame projects across the UK delivering high quality houses on time and on budget. We listed some in our report with the APPG for the Timber Industries last