Cabinet Member for Health and Adults’ Social Care, Cllr Denise Scott-McDonald, Leader of the Council Cllr Anthony Okereke, Ward Councillor Majid Rahman and Member for Regeneration Cllr Aidan Smith
Modular Homes
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has been showcasing the innovative modular construction used in the Greenwich Builds programme, which is creating hundreds of zero-carbon council homes for people on the housing waiting list.
Leader of the Council Councillor Anthony Okereke and Cabinet Member for Regeneration Councillor Aidan Smith recently visited a 32-home development currently underway in East Greenwich.
The modules are manufactured in a controlled factory environment before being installed on-site, allowing for much faster build times, reduced carbon emissions and less building disruption.
Production under factory conditions means that modular homes also meet higher quality standards than traditional buildings, with better air-tightness and energy efficiency.
Lettings system
Supplier Modpods and contractor Elkins Construction are donating all furnishings in the show home to whichever local resident successfully bids for the home via the Council’s Choice-Based Lettings system, which allocates council homes to people on the housing waiting list according to need.
“Building truly affordable homes at speed is a top priority for the Council, and innovative modular construction is key in enabling us to deliver this. Modular building also reduces the environmental impact of our council homes, helping us meet the targets set out in our Carbon Neutral Plan. In addition, the use of solar panels and heat pumps means cheaper running costs for our tenants, vital when so many are struggling with the cost of living crisis.”
Cllr Anthony Okereke
Tuskar Street Development
The development on Tuskar Street is comprised of eight houses with private gardens, 12 duplex apartments, and 12 apartments with a shared residents garden. In line with the commitment for 10 per cent of all Greenwich Builds homes to be wheelchair accessible, three of the apartments are adapted for wheelchair use, and plans include three accessible parking spaces.
In addition to Modpods and Elkins Construction the delivery team for the scheme includes local firm Blakeney Leigh. The homes are due for completion in early 2023.
“These fantastic homes show exactly what we are achieving with our Greenwich Builds programme: superbly designed, sustainable homes targeted to meet the urgent needs of people on our housing waiting list. We are committed to creating 1,750 Greenwich Builds council homes across the borough, and with over 700 either complete or underway, we are making fantastic progress towards meeting this goal.”
Cllr Aidan Smith
Final thought
Well insulated low-carbon housing is both essential for meeting climate goals but in many cases prohibitively expensive. Like many low-carbon technologies or even investments Government can make, the pain is felt up front and the benefits are felt over decades.
Technology, innovative processes, better management and scale are all ways to reduce that upfront cost and ensure that UK housing stock increases in quality over the next few decades and more widely that we decarbonise the rest of the economy.