First modular eco-homes to rent delivered to new town

New modular homes built to rent have been delivered to Northstowe, a new town in Cambridgeshire. 

Each Town House home has been created by House by Urban Splash, a company backed by a £90m deal between Homes England, developer Urban Splash, and Japan-based building firm Sekisui House.

They are the first of 406 modular homes homes which will form the new community on Homes England land at Northstowe.

Housing minister Chris Pincher says: “Building the homes the country needs is a priority for the government and this development, using modern methods of construction, will not only accelerate this work but deliver better quality and more energy efficient homes too. These homes showcase the most promising housebuilding innovations around today and will provide a blueprint for the years to come.”

Each module is constructed at Urban Splash’s East Midlands factory before being driven to the site by road and then craned into place. 

“We’ve been pioneering this concept for a few years now, delivering homes in this way to customers in Manchester, Birmingham, North Shields and Salford. It’s great to extend that offering and bring the first modular homes to this new neighbourhood. We cannot wait to see customers move in here and for this new community to flourish as a great place to live, work and play.”

This is one of a number of sites that will form part of Homes England’s 1,500 home research study into modern methods of construction to drive innovation in the construction industry.

Each unit takes approximately 67 per cent less energy to build compared to an equivalent traditional built project and contain energy-saving features including high-quality insulation, super energy-efficient windows and LED lighting, a hot water cylinder with an integrated airforce heat pump and clean, emission-free electric heating.