Matt Carroll and Sioned Hughes look at the options for using off-site manufacturing in housing.
Housing associations and local authorities are looking to use off-site manufacturing (OSM) to deliver more housing. Still in its infancy, it is a priority for many organisations and for Welsh government itself as we await the publication of its Off-Site Manufacturing Strategy for Wales. Working with a range of partners, Altair has helped housing associations be clear about their options, risk and potential reward.
Why off-site manufacturing?
Housing associations and local authorities are committed to delivering 13,500 of the 20,000 homes which form Welsh Government’s target by 2021 and associations have committed to build 75,000 homes by 2036 as part of Community Housing Cymru’s (CHC’s) Housing Horizons.
As a result, housing associations and local authorities are seeking to deliver new homes to meet ever increasing need.
OSM is being used by a number of sectors, including infrastructure, education, health and housing to deliver construction projects using alternative supply chains and faster, more efficient technologies.
Welsh Government has identified that OSM can simultaneously help deliver much needed supply and help address social, environmental and economic initiatives through factory homebuilding and precise manufacturing principles.
For housing providers, OSM can help deliver homes to site faster, with minimal disruption to local communities and using more sustainable materials and can meet higher levels of energy efficiency. OSM also offers the potential to deliver new homes at a lower cost and with lower running costs than traditionally constructed homes.
| Examples of our work |
| Case study: South Wales RSL Partnership
A partnership of seven Welsh RSLs (Coastal, Family HA, Hafod, Linc Cymru, Pobl, V2C and United Welsh) funded by the Welsh Government appointed Altair to undertake research into the optimum solutions for the delivery of 250+ off-site manufactured homes in South Wales. The aim of the work was to make recommendations on the best approach for delivering off-site homes and possible business structures for off-site manufacturing. The work was divided into three phases. First, we identified all the various delivery options for off-site housing through extensive market research, review of best practice and engagement with stakeholders. Then, we developed a criteria-based assessment model for testing off-site delivery options. We created a multi-level scored options appraisal at four progressive stages of detail where several potential options were assessed, weighted, scored, and ranked resulting in one preferred stage option. The final phase included financial testing of the viability of options and recommendations being made. Following the results of Phase 3 Altair produced a detailed report which included recommendations to the partnership on the best approach for delivering off-site homes, affordably along with the possible business structures for delivery. Our report has since been used to inform decisions and negotiations are underway to deliver OSM in South Wales. Case Study: Advantage South West Altair is currently supporting Advantage South West, an innovative LLP providing procurement services to its four founding members and other housing associations and local authorities across the South West of England. In recognition of the construction skills crisis and the role of OSM to deliver more homes quickly, ASW commissioned Altair to serve as professional advisors on OSM. The dual phased project will independently evaluate and recommend appropriate OSM products for ASW and will explore the potential for ASW’s longer-term partnership options based in the South West. Our expertise At Altair, we are acutely aware of the challenges our clients face to deliver more housing in a changing political and economic landscape. Drawing on extensive knowledge of the affordable housing and property sectors, we support our clients to utilise off site manufacturing to meet their new build goals. We know OSM products and arrangements may seem complicated or even risky. We are here to help. Our services help match your goals for new development, whether they be price, speed or sustainability or all three, with the right OSM products and technologies. We can support you by: § Keeping you up to date: Our experienced researchers monitor new findings from the OSM sector, government and others to ensure you and your board are informed of the potential opportunities and challenges of OSM as the market evolves § Connecting you with the market: Using our familiarity with the UK OSM market and our internal databases of suppliers, we can help you determine who is delivering the products you should consider for your developments § Helping you navigate the many options available: We have developed a bespoke modelling tool to evaluate new-to-market OSM products against your specific needs § Supporting you to get the most out of partnerships: We are an experienced advisor to RSLs seeking partnership with OSM manufacturers and other clients seeking to build development capacity through JVs and new companies § Developing the business case: Using development appraisal techniques and costing data collected from manufacturers, we can support you to write the business case for using OSM For more information, contact: Matt Carroll, director, matt.carroll@altairltd.co.uk, tel: 07880 723676 or Sioned Hughes, principal consultant, sioned.hughes@altairltd.co.uk, tel: 07887 791381 |