Modular builder Ilke enters partnership with housing group

Modular house builder Ilke Homes has signed up to a partnership with housing group Orbit Homes, which has ordered factory-built homes for the first time for a development in Warwickshire.

Ilke Homes will deliver 25 affordable modular houses to the
scheme in Wellesbourne. The first deal of this wider partnership will see ilke
Homes deliver superstructures, with Orbit managing on site development.

Orbit is increasing its procurement of modular homes,
following a successful pilot scheme in March, and ilke Homes is its first
modular housing partner. 

The deal marks ilke Homes’ first development in Warwickshire
and follows recent Midlands schemes including developments in the towns of
Beeston and Arnold in Nottingham. Ilke Homes has been undergoing a regional
expansion, opening new offices in Birmingham, London and Bristol in June, in
addition to its Knaresborough office.

The homes will be manufactured at ilke Homes’ 250,000 sq ft
factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, before being completed on the
Wellesbourne site. Groundworks on the site are expected to commence in August
2020 with the first home being delivered onsite in October of the same year.

Andrew McDermott, managing director for Orbit Homes in the Midlands, said: “Ensuring our homes are good quality, affordable and safe is key for Orbit and we are keen to reduce our carbon footprint through the use of modern methods of construction. We see modular housing as an important part of the future of housing in the UK and are excited to work with ilke Homes as our first partner.

“Over 80% of Orbit Homes are rated EPC C or above and we continue
to look at ways in which we can provide housing that reduces our impact on the
environment and provides our customers with energy efficient homes. Modular
Housing assists us to deliver against our environmental objectives whilst
continuing to provide high quality homes.”

Matthew Bench, executive director of partnerships at ilke
Homes, said: “Scaling-up the country’s delivery of affordable housing is
clearly crucial, but more than anything it is about speed, quality and
partnering with forward thinking housebuilders such as Orbit. This scheme will
be delivered in roughly half the time of traditional construction, and with the
homes precision-engineered in our Yorkshire factory, they will benefit from
superior air tightness and energy-efficiency.” 

“The government has placed an increased emphasis on the
reduction of carbon emissions and sustainable design and construction of new
homes. By using MMC, we are able to deliver homes that are already some of the
most sustainable in the country. It is testament to this fact that Orbit Homes
has now taken a strategic step-change as it embraces modern methods to deliver
much-needed, energy-efficient affordable housing.”