OFFSITE HOMES FRAMEWORK
BUILDING BETTER CHAMPIONING MODULAR As modular technology continues to make its mark on the housing sector, the National Housing Federation (NHF) backed Building Better alliance has appointed three volumetric modular manufacturers to its £600million offsite framework.
1 Building Better, the NHF-supported alliance of 29 housing associations and local authorities working together to increase the use of modern methods of construction (MMC), has now appointed three manufacturers to deliver its first offsite homes framework. The Building Better framework comes as housing associations move away from traditional housebuilding and towards offsite construction that can deliver homes in half the time, that are up to 70% more sustainable. Thanks to shorter construction programmes, modular housebuilding can help generate faster revenue streams for housing associations. This also means
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housing associations will benefit from having to spend less on retrofitting further down the line. Procurement for Housing (PfH) and Building Better have signed up Ilke Homes, Impact Modular and TopHat to the volumetric framework which is worth up to £600million over five years. Social housing providers will be able to procure pre-manufactured 3D construction systems for both houses and apartments through the deal. Over 185,000 homes are managed by the 29 housing associations and local authorities that make up Building Better. Initially, they will build
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at least 800 new offsite homes via the framework with a further 4,500 properties to be produced using modern methods of construction before 2026. This pipeline will grow as more social housing providers join the alliance. PfH and Building Better have appointed the three successful manufacturers to the framework on a direct award basis. This means that housing associations and local authorities won’t need to go through any additional tender process. It is estimated that this streamlined contracting approach will save each housing provider around £15,000 in procurement costs alone.
