Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News

Housing trust joins group to boost building projects

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HALTON Housing has joined the board of ‘Building Better’ consortium looking to accelerate housebuild­ing.

The group is now working with like-minded organisati­ons with what a spokesman called the ‘vision, ambition and imaginatio­n’ to innovate in order to build more units with good quality.

Supported by the National Housing Federation, Building Better is intended to enable housing associatio­ns to share ambitions, risk and knowledge while retaining individual­ity in the affordable housing sector.

Halton Housing’s spokesman said the organisati­on has piloted two developmen­ts using modern methods of constructi­on (MMC) in the last five years, completing 12 homes.

He said the projects resulted in learning about costs and building speed compared to traditiona­l methods, skills, and safety as well as issues such as snagging and defect issues, wastage, energy efficiency performanc­e and post-occupation performanc­e.

Halton Housing is now looking to take these lessons and convert them into future schemes.

Paul Mullane, Halton Housing’s director of developmen­t and growth, will represent the group on the Building Better board.

Paul, who is looking forward to being its ‘northern voice’, said: “I’m delighted to be joining the Building Better board on behalf of Halton Housing, but also on behalf of housing associatio­ns in the North on MMC.

“Through collaborat­ion and standardis­ation, we can overcome the challenges of supply and design by combining housing associatio­n pipelines to leverage the benefits offered by off-site manufactur­ing techniques. I am looking forward to playing a part in delivering better homes that are delivered faster.”

Helen Greig, Building Better project director, said: “We are delighted to welcome Halton Housing to the Building Better group, and Project Board.

Building Better is about collaborat­ion across the entire housing associatio­n sector and not limited to a specific geography.

“The more diverse our membership, the better able we are to represent the entire sectors needs to realise the true benefits of MMC.”

Halton Housing has set a goal of building 1,000 homes by 2022.

The spokesman said MMC offers ‘enormous potential’ to not only accelerate this work but to deliver better quality homes too.

Advantages of MMC include faster constructi­on, fewer defects, and reductions in energy use and waste.

 ??  ?? A Halton Housing new build
A Halton Housing new build

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