Mayor approves factory-built scheme with up to 100% affordable

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today approved plans for a 21-storey building in Croydon that will be constructed ‘off-site’ – one of the tallest schemes of its kind – with up to 100 per cent affordable housing (February 13th).The decision is a boost for off-site construction – an approach that sees homes and their components built to specification in factories and then dropped in place on site. This approach allows for faster construction on site and has the potential to increase extra capacity in the industry.Sadiq gave the green light to a development at Addiscombe Grove in Croydon, over 70 per cent of which has been secured as affordable for first-time buyers to buy at a discount below the market price. The developer, Pocket Living, has further agreed in principle to make the remaining homes available for shared ownership, making all 153 homes genuinely affordable.Last year, Pocket struck a deal with the Mayor for £25m of City Hall funding to support 1,059 new Pocket homes, a third of which are expected to be built off-site in a factory. This funding has helped Pocket build more high-density flats on brownfield sites.The homes are expected to remain affordable for the lifetime of the building, with Pocket marketing and selling the homes to residents and workers in the borough. Pocket typically provide one or two-bed flats for first-time buyers. All units meet the space standards in the draft London Plan.It is hoped that schemes like this will promote more off-site construction and encourage a wider range of Londoners to consider a career in the industry.