New homes ‘are not prefabs’
TWELVE new factory-built homes are being installed in Bacup, in a move that could change the face of housing in years to come.
The eight three-bedroom and four two-bedroom bungalows, which are manufactured in a factory in sections and then assembled on site, will be delivered to Rochdale Road in Britannia, near the Britannia Chip Shop.
And Antony Moran, managing director of Prime Structures, the developers, says they could be the way forward for housing.
He said: “The main driver for these types of houses is cost, quality and speed as well as health and safety.
“There is a big push in the construction industry to move construction offsite due to incidents on site, the shortage of labour in the UK and the weather.”
The houses will be priced from £125,000 to £135,000 and will be permanent, rather than the temporary post war prefab houses, which first appeared after the Second World War as a solution to the housing shortage at the time.
Antony said: “They are not prefabs. Prefabs have that 60s connotation of being temporary and these are permanent, they are built to stay.”
He added that the houses would help solve the housing problem and would create jobs for site workers, ground workers and civil engineers.
But residents are unsure what to make of them.
David Greenwood, from Central View in Bacup, said: “They look alright but it’s the death of the construction industry.
“Where is the future in all of this? Bricklayers and plasterers just won’t be needed anymore.”
But Greensclough ward councillor Jimmy Eaton said the houses would be an improvement on the flytipping and ‘empty shells’ of abandoned houses in the area.
He said: “Those empty houses have no windows and doors and people are just making fires there.
“These new houses look alright from the outside and I welcome them more than the eyesore.
“The question of whether or not they will blend in though is another matter.”
What do you think? Write to our letters page.
‘They are built to stay’