Initiative designed to shed more light on new technologies

Firms are being put on notice to carry out research into modern methods of construction for the housing ministry.

Building understands that an open tender competition for the work, which will look into building units that are constructed offsite and transported to site for assembly, will begin soon.

Countryside Properties MMC factory, Warrington

Countryside is one of the firms to already have facilities ready to produce homes offsite

Last month, housing minister Christopher Pincher told MPs the initiative would help “further understand these new construction technologies”.

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick recently announced that at least 20% of homes funded by a new £12bn affordable homes programme will need to be manufactured using modern methods.

Back in 2017, a host of government departments promised to use offsite construction ahead of traditional methods for their capital programmes.

The transport, health, education, justice and defence departments said they would adopt “a presumption in favour of offsite construction by 2019” across suitable capital programmes.

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