Modern Methods of Construction Strategy employed by Welsh Government

The Welsh Government has set about executing their new Modern Methods of Construction Strategy, ‘Reimagining social house building in Wales’, as a means of increasing the housing supply to meet recent Government targets of 21,000 affordable homes by 2021.

Going into more detail, the Modern Methods of Construction Strategy, which was recently published by the Welsh Department for Housing, outlines how £45M in investment will be allocated to the modular housing industry to develop off-site manufacturing solutions such as supply chains, factories, and skills development centres.

As well as this, the Welsh Government will invest in communities which revolve mostly around the traditional housebuilding industry, encouraging the employment of local people and locally sourced materials into the MMC supply chain, as a means of tackling the subsequent hardship which will be felt now that modular homes and offsite construction are favoured.

Furthermore, £20M of the aforementioned sum will be dedicated to MMC businesses to make these developments while the remaining £25M will be made available for the fourth round of the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme, focusing on innovative housing delivered through MMCs.

The Housing Minister, Julie James stated: “Building more social and affordable homes is a key priority for the Welsh Government. Over the last four years, this Welsh Government has invested £2Bn in new housing across Wales, as part of our ambition to deliver 20,000 affordable homes by 2021.

“But we want to build more. And we want to build better. The significant investment we are making in the modular housing industry will enable us to do that.

“Gone are the days of MMC’s association with poor quality, temporary, pre-fabricated housing; MMC now produces high quality, desirable and energy efficient affordable homes that tenants can be proud of. We have certainly moved from Pre-Fab to Ab-Fab!

“Developing the MMC industry in Wales presents us with a great opportunity to not only build beautiful new social housing, but also kick-start a new industry that will become increasingly important for our economy.”

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