Timber frame home manufacturer Century Homes has welcomed the government’s latest commitmment to grow the number of UK homeowners by one million in the next five years.
Deputy prime minister John Prescott and chancellor Gordon Brown launched a new pamphlet Extending Home Ownership and named three further public sector sites for the Design for Manufacture competition, which challenges the building industry to design houses with a construction cost of £60,000.
They also confirmed government regeneration agency English Partnerships has purchased nearly 100 old NHS sites for affordable homes and is reviewing more than 700 further vacant and surplus sites, including Ministry of Defence land and sites next to London stations.
Century Homes chief executive Gerry McCaughey described the government’s plans to use brownfield sites as “commendable” and said they presented an opportunity for timber frame construction.
He said: “One way to overcome the expensive and unpredictable overruns of brownfield building programmes is by turning to timber frame construction.
“As timber frame puts less stress on traditional foundations, they are ideal for brownfield developments, as both preparation of the site and the waste generated are minimised. Once the site has been made safe for construction, a timber frame house can be at roof level in six hours.”
The extra sites for the Design for Manufacture competition are Renny Lodge, Newport Pagnell; Park Prewett, Basingstoke; and Leybourne Grange, Maidstone. Nearly 400 homes, many for first-time buyers, will be constructed on the sites, with 1,000 being provided in all by the design challenge.
Further sites and the names of 33 bidders are to be revealed shortly. In July, a judging panel will choose 5-15 entries to draw up detailed schemes, with winners being announced in the autumn.
