GOLDBECK, a leading European construction and development company that focuses on systemised, industrialised building methods and Prime plc, a UK-based specialist developer of health and care property, have announced a significant new partnership to help address the growing shortage of affordable housing for key workers, with the delivery of a major new project, Oak House in Poundbury Road in Dorchester.
The 79-unit residential development will provide purpose-built accommodation for key workers, responding to increasing pressure on essential workers who are being priced out of the communities they serve. Construction is scheduled for completion in early 2027. The project is being funded by Royal London Asset Management.
Across the UK, rising house prices and private rents are creating acute challenges for key workers, particularly in healthcare, where staff shortages are being exacerbated by a lack of suitable, affordable local accommodation. Developments such as Oak House play a critical role in supporting recruitment, retention and wellbeing by enabling essential workers to live close to their place of work.
Image: The new residential building will provide key worker accommodation for a local hospital - GOLDBECK
Delivered under a design and build contract, Oak House represents GOLDBECK’s first residential project in the UK. It also cements the company’s credentials as a leading supplier of residential buildings, available in a wide range of different sizes and designed to meet an equally wide range of construction solutions.
Prime are making a long-term commitment to deliver high-quality and affordable key worker housing across the country. For both partners, the Oak House scheme is not a standalone development, but part of a broader programme focused on addressing structural housing shortages through more efficient delivery models.
The scheme will comprise a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, designed to offer comfortable, durable and practical homes tailored to the needs of key workers. Located close to a local hospital, Oak House aims to reduce commuting times, improve work-life balance and support the resilience of local healthcare services. The building will be operated by not-for-profit property management company, Hyve by Prime.
By partnering with GOLDBECK, Prime is adopting a systemised construction approach that prioritises speed, quality and certainty. GOLDBECK’s residential system, which has been successfully delivered across Germany and other countries has been carefully adapted to align with UK building regulations, safety requirements and market expectations.
GOLDBECK’s systemised approach allows a significant proportion of the work to be completed offsite under controlled factory conditions.
This approach is expected to reduce the overall construction programme by approximately 25 per cent compared to traditional build methods, providing greater certainty on delivery times and reducing disruption in a constrained construction market. Factory-controlled production also enables tighter tolerances and consistent build quality across all apartments.
Both GOLDBECK and Prime emphasise that the need for affordable key worker housing is now a national priority rather than a local issue. As public sector employers struggle with staffing pressures, access to good-quality, affordable accommodation has become a fundamental part of social infrastructure.
By combining Prime’s experience in delivering socially focused residential schemes with GOLDBECK’s expertise in systemised construction, the partnership aims to demonstrate a scalable model for delivering affordable homes more efficiently and reliably.
As demand for key worker housing continues to grow, GOLDBECK and Prime see Oak House as a foundation for future collaborations that support essential workers, strengthen local communities and contribute to a more resilient housing system across the UK.
