BUILDOFFSITE present evidence to All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Excellence in the Built Environment

Dirk Vennix (BUILDOFFSITE Executive Director) and Anthony Pearce (APPLY) presented at the Parliamentary Housing Inquiry yesterday.

They stressed the need for industrialisation of the production in the housing sector and suggested Government could lead the way with presuming in favour of MMC adoption on publicly funded projects. Providing the offsite manufacturing sector with predictable and visible pipeline was critical to accelerating the build of new homes. Frameworks should be performance driven as recommended by BUILDOFFSITE’s recent publication Using performance specifications for construction projects – guidance (X540).

Anthony Pearce also stressed the sector’s unique contribution to driving net zero carbon which could lead to net zero bills. He highlighted the successful application of low carbon materials in the manufacturing processes such as Hemspan’s Rochford plan. Rochford Park is an ambitious, flagship project at the planning stage in the county of Essex. The factory facility is designed to manufacture Category 2 MMC housing components at scale using locally sourced hemp. The overall ambition is to create a sustainable, low-carbon supply chain rooted in the local area, providing skilled employment, strengthening the regional green economy, and supporting the delivery of affordable, energy-efficient homes for Rochford and the wider district.

The Inquiry Commission asked us a number of questions including one about how mortgage lenders could be satisfied with the quality of homes built using MMC. Dirk and Anthony mentioned that the Buidoffsite Property Assurance Scheme (BOPAS) has delivered 100 accreditations over the past 10 years and is widely accepted by financial institutions as a proof of manageable risk. The Government could make accreditation mandatory on its projects and provide companies with financial assistance to pay for this sought after certification.

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