Your Housing鈥檚 joint venture with Welink Group plans to build 鈥榰p to鈥� six factories to make Chinese flat-packed homes in what is being described as a 拢2.5bn investment. Building components will be made in the factories and then fixed together on site.
Welink is the UK and Ireland partner of China National Building Material Company鈥檚 (CNBM) technology, which will provide the finance and technology for the new enterprise.
If it success in its goal of making 25,000 homes a year by 2022 it will become the UK鈥檚 largest modular builder.
Brian Cronin, CEO of Your Housing Group (YHG), said: 鈥淵HG is committed to providing innovative solutions to address the availability crisis which affects the housing sector in the UK today. Therefore, as one of the UK鈥檚 largest housing associations, with over 20 years鈥� experience of housing management and operations, we are delighted to be part of this ground-breaking joint venture.
鈥淭his is an opportunity for YHG to get back to building more social and affordable homes across a wider geography of the UK, it also ensures new types of employment, new building skills, and the nurturing of additional apprenticeship opportunities are available, which can only be good news for local people and businesses where we develop our housing and supply chains.鈥�
He added: 鈥淭he state-of-the-art modular or manufactured homes are produced using technology similar to a car manufacturing plant, enabling us to drive down construction costs in the process; the homes are then assembled on site in record quick time. Not only increasing the supply but also decreasing the time it takes to build a new home and get it to the people who need it most. Long term asset sustainability and energy efficiency to tackle fuel poverty are also tangible outcomes of this approach.鈥�
The government welcomed the news of investment from China. Housing minister Gavin Barwell said: 鈥淭his joint venture shows the potential modular construction has to meet the UK鈥檚 housing needs and help build a country that works for everyone.鈥�
International trade minister Greg Hands added: 鈥淭his is a clear endorsement of the UK鈥檚 attractiveness as a place for inward investment. This announcement has the potential to benefit local communities across the country, creating jobs, boosting local economies and creating homes. 鈥淭he Department for International Trade has worked closely with the consortium to highlight the strengths of the UK and played a fundamental role in bringing together the partners in this exciting joint venture.鈥�
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