Canada gives tax breaks in bid to boost UK off-site housing

The Canadian High Commission has backed plans by a housing manufacturer to crack the market for off-site manufactured social housing in the UK.

The company, Alouette Homes, which builds the timber panel “Super E” home, has just completed its first UK social home for Kent-based Kelsey Housing Association.

The news follows the call at the Labour party conference by John Prescott for housebuilders “from here and abroad” to build homes for £60,000. It also comes after Hyde Housing Group began importing off-site manufactured homes from Poland.

Following the Bognor Regis trial, which was constructed by contractor Osborne, Kelsey plans to roll out the technology on a larger scheme of 22 homes in Surrey and if this

proves successful across “a large part” of its 300-home, £25m annual development programme (HT 7 November, page 17).

Andrew Fellows, chief executive of Kelsey, said: “The pilot was about 15% more expensive to construct than a conventionally built home – about £1400 per square metre. However the real saving for us in the length of time it takes to build.

The real saving for us is in the length of time it takes to build – about three weeks rather than 12 to 14

Andrew Fellows, Kelsey Housing Association

“From when it came out of the sea container it took about three weeks, compared with 12 to 14 weeks for a traditional home.

“We would like to roll this out to a large part of our development programme and would continue to import the homes from Canada. We would prefer to source from a UK manufacturer but just cannot get the quality in the UK that we can from the Canadians.”

Fellows added that the use of Super E – an airtight, energy-efficient home – was being backed by tax breaks from the Canadian government, which is keen to expand the use of the technology in the UK.

“We get incredible support from the Canadian government as they see a real market for this in the UK,” he added.

Judith Harrison, director of innovation body the Housing Forum, said: “In many ways you can’t fault them if they can’t get what they want in the UK. Undoubtedly, it would be more sustainable if UK goods could equal this standard. But if there is not the same quality of product in the UK then perhaps like cars and IT it will be sourced elsewhere.”