UK: £2.5billion deal to build 25,000 flat pack homes

by Gazette: http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/
(UK)

A HOUSING association is to build 25,000 flat pack solar powered homes after signing a £2.5bn joint venture deal.

Warrington based Your Housing Group, signed a joint venture deal with Welink Group which will see it build the modular homes across the UK.

Through the deal it will also be able to access technology and financial support from the China National Building Material Company. However material and labour will be sourced locally where possible for the developments.

Brian Cronin, CEO of Your Housing Group, said: “YHG is committed to providing innovative solutions to address the availability crisis which affects the housing sector in the UK today.

“Therefore, as one of the UK’s largest housing associations, with over 20 years’ experience of housing management and operations, we are delighted to be part of this ground-breaking joint venture.

“This is an opportunity for YHG to get back to building more social and affordable homes across a wide geography of the UK. It also ensures new types of employment, new building skills, and the nurturing of additional apprenticeship opportunities are available, which can only be good news for local people and businesses where we develop our housing and supply chains.”

As part of the deal the joint venture will build six factories at different locations across the country, which will produce up to 25,000 homes a year, making it the UK’s leading modular housing developer.

The homes will have solar panels and will be at least 75 per cent off the electricity grid.

Mark Tattersall, chairman of Your Housing Group, said: “Our focus as a business has always been about building and maintaining communities through the development of good housing, creation of jobs and servicing the needs of all of our customers.

“This announcement brings further investment, opportunities and new homes to our region that will generate a welcome positive impact in our communities when it is needed most.”