Councillors in West Lothian have been told that modular housebuilding is no quick fix for the county’s housing shortages.
A report compiled by housing officers pointed to building industry issues as the council nears completion of a troubled development in the centre of Livingston.
Councillors had passed a motion earlier this year asking the Housing department to explore the potential for more use of modular building following surging waiting lists and homeless applications.
A report to the Housing Standards PDSP said case studies of projects in West Lothian and and other council areas “generally report several recurring challenges associated with modular housing delivery.”
Modular housing is built in prefabricated sections and transported to the site. A report to councillors said: “While modular construction can reduce programme times and provide lifecycle savings, several projects found that factory manufacturing, transportation and specialist assembly can result in higher initial costs compared to traditional construction, particularly where economies of scale are not achieved.”
The Almondvale Crescent project to provide flats for young people as well as new council homes hit problems when Connect Modular went into administration a few years ago. New contractors had to be found to take on the job which is now almost ready for hand over- almost a year later than planned.
Marjory Mackie, Housing Strategy & Development Manager, said that one of the problems highlighted in the study was that there are so few manufacturers of modular housing in Scotland.
In practical terms this makes it difficult for the council to source competitive tendering for contracts with so few firms active in the field. While there are more firms operating in England and Wales and in Ireland Building standards in these countries are different.
Asked by Councillor Pauline Orr if this meant that Scotland’s standards were stricter, Ms Mackie said it was more about nuances of difference between regulations than major differences.
The report highlighted other issues currently facing local authorities and the wider building industry regarding the use of modular construction. These include design flexibility- use of modular demands decisions early in the contract, site constraints such as urban areas where large vehicle are needed to transport building sections and a lack of technical expertise on modular building.
Ms Mackie pointed out that modular is not widely used in the private building sector as yet.
The report concluded: “Generally, the homes provided are standard timber frame construction which the house developers subcontract to timber kit suppliers.
“There is therefore an element of housing that is made in the factory on most sites. This route for affordable housing delivery has proven to be successful with most homes being delivered on time and within budget.
“Options for delivery of new council housing will be investigated for a future programme which will be dependent on available funding. This may include modular housing delivery; however, a detailed technical options appraisal will be undertaken as part of this work which will determine the procurement and delivery routes for any future programme.
“The options appraisal will focus on best value, certainty of delivery and minimising the risk to the council, none of which so far have been delivered through modular construction.”
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
