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Swan housing association is to start using a “satellite” model of offsite construction as it strives to build up to 600 homes a year in factories.
The 11,000-home landlord intends to “flat pack” cross-laminated timber panels produced in its Basildon factory and transport them to pop-up plants near schemes further away from its main operations, where they can be fully constructed.
It will use this method at the Webbs Industrial Estate site in Walthamstow, northeast London, which it purchased from the Greater London Authority in August.
Inside Housing first revealed Swan’s plans for an offsite construction factory in March 2016.
Production lines at the plant are close to being ready, with full capacity manufacturing due to start before Christmas.
John Synnuck, chief executive of Swan, said: “This method means we can construct homes some distance from the factory a lot quicker and it obviously increases the potential output from the factory. We believe we can up it from about 300 to around 500 or 600 per year.”
The factory will produce the majority of Swan’s new build and the association aims to deliver between 700 and 800 homes a year in total through its development company. It will still use traditional building methods for developments above nine storeys.
Mr Synnuck said that although Swan expects interest in the project from other housing providers to “increase exponentially” once the factory is up and running, Swan is only planning to deliver for its own 3,500-home pipeline for the next five years.
However, he added it is “very interested in talking to other housing associations” about helping them to license their own factories.
Midlands-based landlord Accord also has plans to start setting up offsite plants with partners next year.