Factory-Built Homes Installation

The first of 131 off-site manufactured affordable homes have been installed in Arnold, Nottinghamshire.

Six modules were craned into place as part of the first phase of the Birch Fields development on Rolleston Drive, which will be owned and managed by housing provider Jigsaw Homes Group.

Each house is being precision-engineered by modular housing pioneer ilke Homes at the company’s 250,000 sq. ft factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.

The Homes England-backed development will deliver 45 two-bedroom homes, 73 three-bedroom homes and 13 four-bedroom homes.

A total of 46 homes will be available through shared ownership from Snugg Homes, part of Jigsaw Homes Group. The remaining 85 for affordable rent will be managed by Jigsaw Homes Midlands and allocated to local people via Gedling Borough Council.

This innovative scheme aims to bring more sustainable housing to the East Midlands.

Thanks to precision-engineering techniques, the high-quality homes will achieve at least a ‘B’ EPC rating, making them some of the most energy-efficient in the region and meaning residents will benefit from cost savings on energy bills.

It is Jigsaw’s first foray into delivering factory-built houses as part of its sustainability strategy to reach net zero carbon by 2050 and a number of the properties will also be fitted with a mix of photovoltaic (PV) panels, Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) and battery storage.

Homes at Birch Fields are utilising the latest green technologies to reduce energy bills. They are all very well insulated and draught proofed in factory conditions to reduce heating requirements compared with similar conventional new builds, resulting in significantly lower heating requirements than typical existing homes.

• Forty-six homes will benefit from solar PV (photovoltaic) panels which generate electricity for free, reducing energy bills even more.

• Five homes will also be fitted with battery storage systems which store the electricity generated by the solar panels to enable more energy to be used in the home, further reducing electricity imports.

• Sixteen homes will come installed with air source heat pumps. The low-carbon technology is three-to-four times more efficient than a gas boiler. The Government, as part of its Heating and Buildings Strategy, has laid out ambitions to ramp up installations in order to reduce emissions from housing – which currently account for 20 percent of the UK’s total.

The homes, which will be delivered in half the time of traditional methods, will be installed in phases throughout the next year with all 131 homes completed by autumn 2023.

Joanne Bonnington, Assistant Director of Development at Jigsaw Homes Group said: “It has been very exciting to see the first few modules arrive on-site after witnessing them being constructed inside the factory.

“Now the homes are being installed, it offers a great sense of how the area will be transformed and what is to come.”

“We are looking forward to the completion of even more modules with ilke Homes and delivering affordable, sustainable housing to meet local need.”

Tom Heathcote, executive director of development at ilke Homes, said: “It’s great to reach the latest milestone at Birch Fields, where ilke Homes, in partnership with Jigsaw Homes Group, is set to deliver one of the UK’s most energy-efficient affordable-led schemes. The new development is breathing life into a once derelict site, making good use of brownfield land.

“Thanks to high levels of energy-efficiency, residents will be better protected from the worsening cost-of-living crisis, as bills will be significantly reduced.”

Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke MBE said: “A key council priority is to provide more homes to meet the current and future needs of the borough and to identify vacant and underused sites for developments.

“I’m pleased to see the progress being made at the Rolleston Drive site and welcome the first homes being delivered at this innovative development on what has been a derelict and unused brownfield site for far too long.

“I look forward to seeing the rest of the site develop and the benefits it will bring to the area, and would like to thank Jigsaw Homes for their support and for investing in affordable homes for the borough.”

To register your interest in a property through shared ownership, please visit snugghomes.co.uk.