ilke Homes has been selected by top five housebuilder Bellway to deliver the
FTSE 250 company’s first modular homes.
The partnership will see ilke Homes deliver 40 factory-built homes on a site
in Milton Keynes. Branded Tattenhoe Park, the wider scheme will comprise 160
homes built from steel and timber framed homes as part of a pilot project being
led by Homes England.
Homes England’s pilot projects are delivering 1,800 homes across the country
as part of a study into the benefits of MMC. These include improved quality and
energy efficiency, and a reduction in construction waste. A recent report
from the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee suggested factory-built
housing will be instrumental in speeding up development across the UK.
It is the first time ilke Homes and Bellway have partnered to deliver homes
in the UK, with the modular housing pioneer already having signed a number of
other deals with some of the country’s biggest house builders.
ilke Homes will be delivering a mix of two, three and four bedroom homes for
Bellway, for both affordable and open market tenures.
Savills estimates
that the proportion of homes built using MMC over the next decade will double
from today’s 10 percent to closer to 20 percent.
Today’s announcement follows news from last year that ilke Homes, despite
being founded just four years ago, has an order book with a value exceeding
£200 million. The company is currently on a drive to recruit up to 500 new
employees in order to boost production capacity and become a top ten house
builder by volume within the next five years.
Bellway is due to start work on site in March, with ilke Homes expected to
deliver the first homes in August.
Tom Heathcote, executive director of development at ilke Homes, said: “Proof
of both concept and delivery means that ilke Homes has become a partner of
choice for the UK’s biggest house builders. It’s great to partner with Bellway
Homes at Tattenhoe Park, a truly innovative, Homes England-backed scheme that
is aiming to demonstrate the benefits of MMC by collecting granular data on the
performance of our own precision-engineered homes.
“ilke Homes’ leading role in Make Modular, the UK’s first trade association
for MMC providers, means we’re at the forefront of creating the next steps for
modular house building in the UK. The body will accelerate and advance the MMC
agenda through one strong voice rather than a series of disparate ones.”
Paul Smits, Managing Director at Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “Bellway
is pleased to confirm this partnership with ilke Homes to deliver our first
modular homes at Tattenhoe Park. We have developed our plans with ilke’s input
throughout, and their expertise has accelerated our learning around their
products and processes. Now contracts are signed, we look forward to seeing
these new homes being manufactured by ilke Homes and preparing to install the
units at Tattenhoe Park.”
