Modular housing company ilke Homes has partnered with Vistry Partnerships for a housing project at a historic site in Bristol.
The partnership will see ilke Homes supply 32 modular homes to Vistry as part of a major redevelopment project at the Blackberry Hill Hospital site.
The 32 homes will be manufactured at ilke Homes’ 250,000 sq ft factory in North Yorkshire, before being completed on the 21-acre Bristol site in December 2020.
The homes will form part of Vistry Partnerships’ wider regeneration project, which will ultimately comprise 346 homes, retail and start-up business units, a community building, and extensive green space.
Many of the historic buildings around the Blackberry Hill Hospital site are grade II-listed.
Before being repurposed as a hospital, the site was used to house French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th Century.
“Offsite manufacturing key”
Homes England has signalled its commitment to using MMC to quickly upscale housing delivery after it invested £30m in ilke Homes in November 2019.
Matthew Bench, executive director of partnerships at ilke Homes, said: “Offsite manufacturing has a key role to play to kickstart the economy and to quickly build the high-quality, energy-efficient homes that are needed across the country.
“Working with Vistry Partnerships demonstrates the confidence that leading developers have in the quality of our homes and the speed at which we can deliver them.
“We are thrilled to be working with Vistry and to be a part of its long-term strategic plans.
“As we scale-up our Bristol office we will continue to look for more exciting housing opportunities in the South West and beyond.”
The deal marks ilke Homes’ first scheme in the South West since the June opening of its Bristol office, following the company’s recent regional expansion.
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The modular homes movement
Vistry Partnerships said it had opted to use modern methods of construction (MMC) for part of the housing development due to the speed, quality, and energy-efficiency benefits that offsite manufacturing affords.
Craig Currie, managing director of Vistry Partnerships West, said: “This project really is about true partnership and regeneration, working with a range of partners and using our expertise to transform these redundant buildings into a fantastic new community.
“We’re really pleased to be working with ilke Homes, using innovative modern methods of construction to accelerate the delivery of the new homes, meaning we can bring forward affordable homes for local people faster.”
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