Section: Building & Regeneration

Latest Design for Manufacture Winner

A new community made up of energy efficient, flexible homes is planned for a former hospital site in Coxheath, near Maidstone, Kent, as part of the Deputy Prime Minister's Design for Manufacture competition.

The SIXTYK Consortium, led by the housebuilder Crest Nicholson Plc with Kingspan off-site and architects Sheppard Robson, was announced as the preferred developer for the 3.9 ha site, formerly known as Linton hospital. The announcement marks the ninth out of ten sites available through the competition, and is the second to be won by the consortium. Last November, SIXTYK were also selected as preferred developers for another former hospital site in the competition, namely Renny Lodge in Newport Pagnell.

National regeneration agency, English Partnerships, is running the Design for Manufacture competition on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It has challenged the house-building industry to look at how it can make construction methods more efficient by designing a home to high standards for a construction cost of only £60,000.

Around 150 homes are planned to be developed on the site, 45 of which will be constructed for approximately £60,000. A third of the homes will be affordable, either for rent, sale, or first-time buyers.

The key features of the winning proposal are:

A range of £60,000 house types and apartments - a mix of two-bedroom three person homes and three-bedroom five person homes.
All of the homes will be built using a modern prefabricated panel (SIPS) system supplied by Kingspan, allowing Crest to finish each housing plot within 25 days - half the building rate of traditionally built homes.
All houses will have a prefabricated skylight roof lantern unit to help manage heat, make maximum use of solar gain, and reduce energy consumption - providing an Eco Homes Excellent rating.
Service walls in a central location creating flexibility in the housing designs.
Sprinklers in all apartments to allow flexible internal layouts that maximise living space.
A community centre, a public square around the listed church, several play areas for children of all ages and home zone layouts to encourage safe sharing of the roads by cars and people.
Small scale community heating options for groups of houses.

Overall, Design for Manufacture will see the construction of more than 1,000 new properties for sale or rent across ten sites. At least 30% of homes on each site will be built to a construction cost of £60,000, with some sites containing even more. The remainder will be a mix of smaller and larger homes constructed with similar cost efficiencies.

Scheme Update

The first residents moved into a new development of 17 two-bedroom homes in Nottingham. The Leicester Housing Association scheme was funded by £600,000 of the Association's own money and £513,000 from the Housing Corporation.
Work started on a £3 million housing development in Durham. The scheme, consisting of 2-bedroom homes, is being developed by Sunderland Housing Group.
Connaught won two refurbishment contracts in Scotland. Edinburgh Council awarded the company a £1.3 million contract to upgrade kitchens and bathrooms. The Company also secured a £900,000 contract with Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership for roofing and insulation works.
William Sutton Housing Association is match-funding a £90,000 grant from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to carry out improvements on the St Quintin Park Estate. The programme includes the introduction of traffic control measures.
English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, has selected Redrow Homes to regenerate the South Yard Enclave in Devonport, Plymouth. The 7.3 ha site, purchased last year by the agency from the MoD, will be transformed into a mixed-use neighbourhood featuring more than 450 new homes, shops, offices, and community facilities. Of the new homes, 75% will be for market sale, including 15% reserved for first-time buyers. There will also be homes for affordable rent and shared ownership.
Lovell is about to start work on a £5.3 million housing scheme at Huyton in Liverpool for Cosmopolitan Housing Association. Cosmopolitan is co-ordinating the development work on behalf of Knowsley Housing Trust. It will involve the creation of 63 new houses, bungalows and flats, and the refurbishment of ten existing Trust homes at Hillside Avenue and Calgarth Road in the North Huyton New Deal New Future Neighbourhood Renewal area. The new housing - for affordable rent - will be built on land previously occupied by former Trust homes, which have now been demolished.
Basildon Community Housing Association (BCHA) and Lovell were selected by English Partnerships, in consultation with Basildon District Council, as the preferred developer for the £200m regeneration of the Craylands Estate and former Fryerns School site in Basildon. BCHA and Lovell will be responsible for delivering up to 650 new homes and rebuilding up to 600 homes, in addition to creating a new local centre, which will include retail and community uses.

Section: Building & Regeneration

Latest Design for Manufacture Winner

Scheme Update

Housing Monthly Diary

Reporting on February 2006

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