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Orbit agrees partnership with modular housing provider Ilke Homes
Housing association Orbit has agreed a long-term partnership with modular housing provider Ilke Homes, with their first project set to start next month in the West Midlands.
The 45,000-home landlord and the modular firm’s first deal will see Ilke supply 25 factory-built affordable homes for an Orbit development in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire.
The homes will be developed at Ilke’s 250,000 sq ft Knaresborough factory in North Yorkshire. Groundworks are expected to start on the site in August this year, with the first homes being delivered in October.
The deal is part of a wider partnership between the two organisations that will see Ilke supply homes and Orbit manage the onsite development. Orbit conducted a successful pilot of modular homes in March.
This is the latest in a string of partnerships agreed between Ilke and social housing providers in the past 12 months. In May, it agreed a £23m deal with Stonewater to deliver 120 factory-built homes for a scheme in Herefordshire. Last year, it signed up Places for People in a £100m agreement – its biggest modular deal to date in the sector.
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Andrew McDermott, managing director for Orbit Homes in the Midlands, said: “Ensuring our homes are good-quality, affordable and safe is key for Orbit, and we are keen to reduce our carbon footprint through the use of modern methods of construction. We see modular housing as an important part of the future of housing in the UK and are excited to work with Ilke Homes as our first partner.
“Over 80% of Orbit Homes are rated EPC [Energy Performance Certificate] C or above and we continue to look at ways in which we can provide housing that reduces our impact on the environment and provides our customers with energy-efficient homes.
"Modular housing assists us to deliver against our environmental objectives whilst continuing to provide high quality homes.”
Orbit placed sixth in Inside Housing’s Biggest Builder’s Survey earlier this month, after completing 1,520 homes last year.
Ilke has said that the move is part of its wider expansion into the Midlands after it opened an office in Birmingham this year.
Matthew Bench, executive director of partnerships at Ilke Homes, said: “Scaling up the country’s delivery of affordable housing is clearly crucial, but more than anything it is about speed, quality and partnering with forward-thinking house builders such as Orbit.
“This scheme will be delivered in roughly half the time of traditional construction, and with the homes precision-engineered in our Yorkshire factory, they will benefit from superior air tightness and energy-efficiency.”
