Could Offsite Construction Help Meet Housebuilding Demand?

There could be a significant increase in the offsite timber frame construction over the next few months to help the UK keep up with the demand to build 340,000 new homes every year.

According to West Fraser, this environmentally-conscious way of erection is far quicker than traditional building, thanks to its ability to be constructed off site.

Builders Merchant News stated: “The reduction in on-site activity means that, once the building’s foundations are installed, erection of the main structure followers very quickly, typically taking only two or three days to complete.”

The construction season can also be extended as housebuilding does not have to slow down over the winter period, as it does with brick and block. As the time it takes to erect the building is significantly shorter, timber frame houses with corrugated roofing sheets can be made elsewhere and put up quickly at a time when weather is not a problem.

In addition to this, the use of sustainably produced materials that have been manufactured around the UK and Ireland means it is eco-friendly. They are also more energy-efficient, so homeowners can reduce the amount of gas and electricity they use to heat it in the long-term.

Last February, the government reinforced its aims to build at least 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, including half a million between 2017 and the end of 2022.

A briefing paper entitled Stimulating housing supply – Government initiatives (England) revealed there might need to be “muscular action” to help the government achieve this ambitious target, “particularly when the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is taken into account”.