New modular factory launches to deliver 2,000 new homes a year
- British modular housebuilder ilke Homes opens first factory, offering practical solution to the UK’s housing shortage
- Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire officially opened the new site in Yorkshire, creating 750 new jobs
- State-of-the-art homes reduce construction time and costs, cutting build programmes in half
Offering a solution to the UK’s housing crisis, British modular housebuilder ilke Homes has officially opened the doors to its modular housing factory in Knaresborough, Yorkshire. ilke Homes aims to build 2,000 new homes a year at the factory within the next 24 months, and plans are in place to scale up to produce 5,000 homes per year in the next five years.
The state-of-the-art factory in Yorkshire uses innovative, modern methods of construction to build eight modular homes every day and specialises in the latest off-site manufacturing techniques. The high-quality, energy efficient homes are transported to developments across the country and once on site, can be installed at a rate of six homes a day – cutting the time a traditional build programme takes in half in order to deliver housing to those who need it most.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire officially opened the new 25,000m2 modular homes factory, meeting with ilke Homes employees, testing out the innovative 3D modelling technologies used by their manufacturing team and seeing modules at various stages of the construction flow-line.
The opening of the factory has created more than 250 local jobs across ilke Homes’ manufacturing and supply chain, design and engineering teams, with 85% of roles classified as unskilled and taken by people from outside of the construction sector. The housebuilder plans to expand its Yorkshire workforce with a further 500 high-quality jobs set to be available over the next five years.
Björn Conway, CEO of ilke Homes said: “We’re proud to officially open our first house building factory in the UK; delivering much needed, energy-efficient housing that will assist developers, local councils and housing associations responding to the current housing shortage.
“The Government has called for the use of innovative new technology in the housebuilding industry in order to meet housing targets, and the modern methods of construction used to create our modular homes have been recognised as one of the most viable ways to do this.
“We’ve already got an established pipeline of 1,000 homes for 2019, and are working in partnership with local authorities, housing associations and developers to ensure that there is a steady supply of affordable housing available across the UK for those who need it most.”
RT Hon James Brokenshire, Communities Secretary commented:
The precision engineered homes are assembled on a highly efficient flow line. Homes are fully mortgageable and tenure blind, being fully adaptable to both private market and housing association requirements for all forms of sale and rent.
The attractive range of house types are designed to perfectly serve the needs of modern living and include homes for open market sale, as well as homes for affordable and private rent. Homes will have flexible layouts with over 100 possible variations, from two-storey terraced houses to three-storey semi-detached properties, and blocks of flats of up to four storeys. In 2019, ilke Homes is launching its new apartment portfolio, offering partners a choice of two and half and three storey apartments over the next 12 months.
ilke Homes, in partnership with housing associations, developers and registered providers will deliver much-needed, high-quality housing in less than half the time of traditional construction.