Mark Farmer appointed MMC Champion

Mark Farmer has been appointed to be the Champion for modern housebuilding for the government.

With over 30 years’ experience, Mark Farmer is author of the inciteful report ‘Modernise or Die’ –  an independent review of the UK’s construction labour model. It looked in particular at the skills pressures and other constraints that limit housebuilding and infrastructure development in the UK. The final report called for radical steps to be taken to address the sector’s longstanding problems, using technology and the advent of new ways to deliver construction solutions.

Mark Farmer

Mark Farmer will provide independent scrutiny and advice to the Government on how to increase the use of MMC in homebuilding. He will also be charged with developing the ‘Construction Corridor’ in the North and promoting wider innovation in the sector.

Farmer will also act as an ambassador overseas for the UK’s MMC activities in homebuilding, using international networks and trade opportunities to attract investment into an industry that could be worth an estimated £40Bn once mature.

The announcement follows the confirmation of transformational funding into the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which will play a crucial role in the scaling up of production, bringing down production costs and allowing up to eight homes, which will create less waste and be more energy efficient, to be built a day.

Housing Minister Esther McVey MP said: “I want to see modern methods of construction – the new gold standard of building – being used up and down the country to usher in a green housing revolution. That’s why it is such fantastic news that Mark Farmer has agreed to be our new MMC Champion – to really drive forward innovation, and to help the government deliver a new generation of green homes.”

MMC Champion Mark Farmer said: “I am delighted to have been asked to carry out this new role. This is a really important time for the construction industry and there is an urgent need to rethink how we build homes, delivering better quality, improved safety, carbon reduction and an array of exciting new career opportunities.

“I look forward to working with both industry and Government to make sure we now accelerate the uptake of modern methods of construction.

This news also comes days after the final piece of the world’s tallest modular building was installed in Croydon, just 35 weeks after construction started. The two towers of 101 George Street, developed by Tide and its sister company Vision Modular Systems in its Bedford factory, stand at 44-storeys and 135.6m it is the tallest modular apartment tower in the world – the same height as the London Eye.

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