Deputy prime minister John Prescott wants tens of thousands of “sustainable” houses to be built around the UK, and, according to Building, he wants them factory-made out of “steel panels”. The magazine stated as much in its preview of the Delivering Sustainable Communities Summit 2005 in Manchester’s GMex centre at the beginning of this month.

The exhibition and conference was organised by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and brought together private housebuilders, local authorities, voluntary bodies and the regional regeneration agencies which, under the auspices of English Partnerships (EP), are spearheading efforts to create public/private alliances that can deliver 200,000 new homes in “sustainable communities” by 2016.

Seemingly bearing out Building’s statement, Mr Prescott described the centrepiece of the Summit, a steel-framed “townhouse” commissioned by EP, as an example of the sort of “modern methods of construction” (MMC) approach he favours. Underlining the point, he and prime minister Tony Blair posed on the balcony for a photo-shoot.

Some assumed from all this that timber and timber frame were on the back foot both at the Summit and, more importantly, in the government’s grand sustainable communities scheme.

But, on closer examination, the view that other sustainable construction systems are devouring market share at timber’s expense doesn’t really hold up, at least not yet. According to an ODPM spokesperson, Mr Prescott never talked up “steel panel” construction. “He issued the building industry with the challenge to build more homes using MMC, but has never narrowed it down to one approach,” she said.

At the Summit Mr Prescott appeared to take the same line, emphasising the importance of different areas of the country tackling housing needs their way. “We know a ‘one size fits all’ policy won’t work,” he said.

EP policy manager Kevin McGeough also insisted that nothing should be read into the use of steel frame in the Summit townhouse. “We had no specific requirement for a type of construction system, but it had to be built at GMex in 12 hours,” he said. “Timber frame companies declined the opportunity, but so did other steel frame suppliers.”

Mr McGeough additionally pointed out that the house used wood doors and windows, decking and engineered timber flooring.

Timber frame exhibitors at the Summit also insisted that the Sustainable Communities programme offers them huge opportunities. “If anything, timber has the edge because of its carbon credentials,” said Robertson Timber Kit national sales manager Simon Bliss.

&#8220We can’t let up on communicating our technical and environmental credentials to architects, specifiers, engineers, planners and the money men”

Bryan Woodley, chief executive, UK Timber Frame Assocation

Closer relationships

But, he added, timber could not simply rely on its inherent advantages. The key to success is also about forming closer relationships with other parts of the construction chain and the customer. “You have to work in partnership with other suppliers and stakeholders in a project.”

Wave Homes, which is involved in a project to build 500 “closed-panel” homes with the Milton Keynes Partnership regeneration agency, also feels timber is well placed to capitalise. “The industry is built on in-depth knowledge of its material, has the means to supply solutions and is making appropriate investment in quality assurance,” said Wave’s Stuart Gee.

Kingspan Insulation, which has a fast developing building division using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and is currently working on the UK’s “largest offsite housing project” in Manchester, was equally upbeat. “Site skills shortages and demand for rapid construction, mean that developers are increasingly looking for approaches that don’t need the wet trades,” said Kingspan contract manager Tony Millichap. “Systems like ours tick all the boxes in terms of construction schedules and thermal performance.”

The timber industry also had a presence at the Summit in the Woodworks stand, a joint promotion by the UK Timber Frame Association, British Woodworking Federation, wood. for good, TRADA, Naturally Wood and the Woodland Initiatives Network.

UKTFA chief executive Bryan Woodley agreed that the sustainable construction market had great potential for timber frame, which already accounts for 40% of all new build “affordable housing”. But he urged the industry not to “undersell itself”. “We can’t let up on communicating our technical and environmental credentials to architects, specifiers, engineers, planners and the money men.”

John Fletcher of wood. for good agreed. “To get our share of the £38bn Sustainable Communities budget, we need to know how to press these people’s buttons.”

One of the most prominent representatives of the steel-framed offsite construction sector at the Summit was Advance Housing, the manufacturer co-owned by Barratt and Terrapin. Business development manager Peter Brown said it was promoting itself strongly to registered social landlords and other markets for MMC housing. But he also had some reassuringly positive comments for other construction systems. “Provided they market themselves effectively, the prospects are good,” he said. “Currently MMC construction only accounts for 6% of the housing market. The government wants a figure of 50%, but even if it only hits 20% in a decade that leaves enough room for everyone. In fact, rather than argue, I believe there’s scope for us to co-operate, particularly in developing standard product testing.”