BUILD Q3 2018

Build Q3 2018 4 he UK Government published the Housing White Paper entitled ‘Fixing Our Broken Housing Market’ on 7th February 2017 and introduced policy measures to address the long- term supply and affordability of housing in the UK. The paper also included encouraging new innovative entrants to the housing market to help deliver the government’s housing objective of one million homes by the end of 2020. However, the industry is struggling to keep up with the demand of future developments - especially in London. There are several contributing factors for this; the rising population, the price of property, the availa- bility of skilled workers and arguable limited space to build. Supply is an ongoing challenge as demand continues to increase. This is where Ireland can help offer a solution with their innovative modern methods of construction. Enterprise Ireland supports the trade of €1.29bn worth of construc- tion products and services to the UK making it its most dynamic and important trading partner. Ireland is a natural choice for offsite with its nearshore capabilities, however the reasons behind the country being fa- voured for offsite go much deeper than mere proximity. Ireland is heavily committed to investing in the construction industry and is at the forefront of introducing innovative technologies. The country offers a competitive advantage and are world-class leaders in lean offsite manufacturing, digital construction, BIM and low carbon. With the UK and Ireland holding such strong trade ties, both countries mutually benefit through ongoing collaboration and together, are finding solutions to better future proof the industry. The UK government pledged to invest more in the offsite construction industry - a huge positive and Enterprise Ireland are keen to develop and support this to help meet ongoing housing demand. To open up the conversation around offsite further, Enterprise Ireland recently brought together key stakeholders across the UK and Irish construction industry to discuss the challenges surrounding the London Housing Crisis and the solutions that offsite could provide. The contribution that offsite construction can make is significant and includes: • Doubles the Capacity - While the houses are being produced offsite in a factory setting, the main site is freed up allowing other work to be continued which in turn speeds up the entire construction process considerably • Improves Quality & Performance - Quality is improved and post-handover defects are reduced • Helps Overcome Constraints Architects can use modular construction to overcome the constraints of tight space requirements of inner cities while creating quality and inspira- tional design. The days of uninspiring ‘prefab’ builds are long gone; most of today’s modern methods of construction offerings are architecturally interesting and structurally solid. • Reduces Environmental Impact - Offsite is a more sustainable construction approach due to the reduc- tion in carbon footprint as well as reduced impact upon local environ- ments as waste is substantially decreased, fewer materials deliveries and so reduced disruption and fuel consumption. • Decreases External Delays - Manufacturing of homes in factory conditions are unaffected by the delays caused by weather. For example, heavy snowfall from the “beast from the east” caused Britain’s construction industry to grind to a halt, showing the biggest fall in activity since immediately after the Brexit vote • Addresses the Skills Shortage Off-site construction is a means to addressing the skills shortage faced by the industry. Increased use of offsite construction methods for pro- ducing housing can address supply shortages by using state of the art manufacturing techniques in modern highly automated factories. • Reduces health and safety risk on site - Construction in a controlled factory environment also has the advan- tage of being more predictable and safer; reducing the health and safety risk With offsite providing a solution for a more efficient build, it would seem like the obvious choice for tackling the housing crisis in London; yet some developers are still wary of outsourcing and choose to continue with more traditional construction methods. Collaboration is required to help support this and better educate on benefits involved. Ireland is committed to delivering high quality services to the UK and Irish construction companies are dedicated to working with principal con- tractors and stakeholders to deliver new homes and landmark projects throughout the UK. The promotion of offsite benefits and an education around the misconceptions of this method are key to driving change within the construction industry. Challenges with budgets, space, skilled workers are only set to continue (and in some cases worsen) so finding timely, cost saving solutions for the construction industry are paramount to the preservation of the UK How can Ireland help resolve the UK Housing Shortage? By Anne Corr, Market Advisor, Enterprise Ireland UK T