You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
South East housing association acquires second modular factory
Essex-based association Swan has entered a 15-year agreement on its second modular factory as it looks to expand its modern methods of construction (MMC) offering.
Swan has partnered with Panattoni, the largest developer in Europe, on its new modular factory in Basildon, which is expected to deliver 1,000 homes each year.
The association, which owns and manages 11,000 homes, said the new factory will manufacture light gauge steel modular housing and will operate alongside Swan’s existing cross-laminated timber (CLT) volumetric system delivered within its current factory.
At 116,841 sq ft, the new factory is considerably larger than its first factory, which was opened in 2017 and is 75,000 sq ft.
READ MORE
In recent months the government has demonstrated its commitment to MMC by organising a memorandum of understanding between warranty providers to boost lender confidence and demanding that Homes England’s strategic partners must commit to using MMC on a quarter of their new homes.
Geoff Pearce, deputy chief executive of Swan, said: “Panattoni’s new facility is a key strategic move which will allow Swan to expand its production and meet key long-term housing delivery targets, not just for Swan but also for its strategic and local authority partners.
“Basildon 117 [is] opposite our existing factory, [which] makes it an ideal location from which to continue to expand our offsite capability to include a steel-framed approach and to increase the use of pre-manufacturing and componentisation.”
Swan has set itself a target to manufacture an additional 10,000 homes by 2027.
The housing association was forced to scale back its production of CLT, which is combustible, following the post-Grenfell ban on combustible materials. It still uses CLT for buildings under 18 metres.
James Watson, development director at Panattoni, said: “It’s hugely promising to see Swan occupying this development on a long-term basis to support the growth of their company.
“The scheme is the largest to have been delivered in Basildon for over 10 years and will now give the organisation the space it needs to deliver on its targets.”
Update: at 14:05pm, 29.10.20
The story was amended to clarify that Swan is not aiming to build 10,000 factory homes, rather 10,000 homes overall.
Sign up for our development and finance newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
