Chinese giant to build six UK pre-fab housing factories

[Saving For a Space Ship]

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2016/12/19/chinese-giant-to-build-six-uk-pre-fab-homes-factories/

 Related to thread here, but I thought it deserved its own thread, due to high level Gov involvement .

Mods, perhaps we could have them merged into a "Big fat Prefab (off-site)" thread ? 

 

Edit: article about the partner Housing Association, Yarlington Housing Group. 

Quote

Social housing residents told to sign 'ambition' plan as part of tenancies Social housing tenants will be expected to keep fit, give up smoking and actively look for work, under a controversial new scheme devised by a major housing association....

...Prospective tenants have been told: “We will look at the progress you have made with your HAP when we consider the renewal of your tenancy at the end of the seven-year fixed period.”

The housing association acknowledged that “some people may feel uncomfortable” about committing to the ambition plan. “If they decide they do not want to take advantage of this opportunity, they will be advised to bid for homes offered by other housing providers who do not have a similar scheme,” the housing association said in a statement.

Michael Gelling, chairman of the Tenants’ and Residents’ Organisation of England, which represents those in social housing, said the scheme was patronising and possibly illegal...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/social-housing-residents-told-to-sign-ambition-plan-as-part-of-tenancies-8590713.html

Edited December 20, 2016 by Saving For a Space Ship

[phead]

because the Chinese are known for their high quality buildings.

 

[dgul]

1 hour ago, phead said:

because the Chinese are known for their high quality buildings.

 

That's amazing.  It fell down but remained otherwise completely intact.  Apparently they can fall down and be pulled back up straight five times.

[zugzwang]

2 hours ago, phead said:

because the Chinese are known for their high quality buildings.

 

Those guys near the canal must sleep with a lifebuoy on.

[monkeyman1974]

this is good news.

lightweight construction makes it much cheaper and easier to build than with traditional slab foundations / link we housing association promises a mix of tenure modes

nice and insulated and green too

let's see but if it disrupts the traditional block and brick land hording contractor developers then I'm encouraged

[Riedquat]

18 minutes ago, monkeyman1974 said:

this is good news.

lightweight construction makes it much cheaper and easier to build than with traditional slab foundations / link we housing association promises a mix of tenure modes

nice and insulated and green too

let's see but if it disrupts the traditional block and brick land hording contractor developers then I'm encouraged

Why would it change anything with the land hoarding contractor developers? They'd still hoard, no point in even having a prefab without somewhere to put it. Prefabs aren't a solution to any problem we've got; the actual cost of throwing together a bunch of bricks and mortar is probably a fairly minor contribution to UK house prices, and not one responsible for the rises. Sounds like an excuse to cut corners in one area and give even more soul-destroyingly bland accommodation.

The long and short of it is if you want to build a house the problem is getting somewhere to build it, not getting it built once that part's been sorted.

[monkeyman1974]

you're not a land buyer for a volume housebuilder are you.

I'm not, but I sell to them (indirectly)

not everything is shit

[Beborn]

Banks will probably not lend towards these homes, as it is already the case with other kind of non-standard constructed homes.

[dances with sheeple]

2 hours ago, dgul said:

That's amazing.  It fell down but remained otherwise completely intact.  Apparently they can fall down and be pulled back up straight five times.

Imagine you were up on the top floor, full of single malt, posting links to obscure 80`s bands on HPC when it happened......would be quite a shock I would think? 

[Arpeggio]

You would have to go out the window then run on the outside of the building to the bottom of it as it fell while gradually turning your drink so it's always upright and doesn't spill. If you're on the ground make sure to stand under a window when it falls on you and you'll be OK. I'd be pretty annoyed if I was going for a swim on the top.

[rollover]

4 hours ago, phead said:

because the Chinese are known for their high quality buildings.

 

That's the condition after they delivered it. Maybe they could be more gentle.

[Saving For a Space Ship]

There's more... from Jan  2016 

https://www.ft.com/content/7aba71dc-bba7-11e5-bf7e-8a339b6f2164

WElink Energy agrees £1bn deal to build 8,000 green homes

Renewable energy specialist teams up with Chinese group to construct zero-carbon dwellings

Quote

...The deal comes despite the UK government scrapping initiatives in support of renewable energy...

Glad they called in the Chinese experts ...

Why a Chinese Real Estate Bubble Could Bring Down the Global Economy  http://www.fortune.com/2016/11/02/china-housing-bubble/

Edited December 19, 2016 by Saving For a Space Ship

[999house]

Still small beer in the scheme of things (no pun intended).

[SarahBell]

2 hours ago, Saving For a Space Ship said:

There's more... from Jan  2016 

https://www.ft.com/content/7aba71dc-bba7-11e5-bf7e-8a339b6f2164

WElink Energy agrees £1bn deal to build 8,000 green homes

Renewable energy specialist teams up with Chinese group to construct zero-carbon dwellings

Glad they called in the Chinese experts ...

Why a Chinese Real Estate Bubble Could Bring Down the Global Economy  http://www.fortune.com/2016/11/02/china-housing-bubble/

so how much is that per house?

[Saving For a Space Ship]

7 hours ago, SarahBell said:

so how much is that per house?

It's £1.1 Billion in a similar article , so that's £137K each for 8000 houses 

Quote

 In a major boost for the UK's green housing sector, WElink Energy yesterday announced a new £1.1bn deal with China National Building Materials (CNBM) to develop thousands of zero-carbon homes in the UK....

 http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2442024/welink-energy-and-british-solar-renewables-strike-gbp11bn-deal-with-cnbm-to-deliver-8-000-zero-carbon-homes

http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/welink_energy_bsr_sign_1.1_billion_solar_and_efficient_homes_deal_9023

 

This is more evidence of a rip off, I I repeat what I said on the other thread 

Quote

I am very concerned about allegations  / suspicions that there is potential for the uk tax payer (Gov / housing associations etc),  Ftb's & Financiers to be defrauded or misled with sub standard or over priced prefab housing.

I will be drafting a complaint to the SFO & CMA in this regard to follow market developments closely. I'd be grateful for advice on specific areas to mention

I urge others to do the same .

Contacts for the Serious Fraud office as well as the competition and markets authority

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority/about#notify-us-of-issues

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority

https://www.sfo.gov.uk/contact-us/

Serious Fraud Email: public.enquiries@sfo.gsi.gov.uk

Phone: +44 (0)20 7239 7272/7152 (switchboard)

Fax: +44 (0)20 7084 4700

 

 

[Cosmic Apple]

13 hours ago, Beborn said:

Banks will probably not lend towards these homes, as it is already the case with other kind of non-standard constructed homes.

There are many types of none standard construction houses that have been opened up to mortgage lending in the last 15 years. Concrete slab prefabs being one.

[SarahBell]

2 hours ago, Saving For a Space Ship said:

It's £1.1 Billion in a similar article , so that's £137K each for 8000 houses 

 

 

So does that include land, roads, services being put on to estates? 

 

[Saving For a Space Ship]

54 minutes ago, SarahBell said:

So does that include land, roads, services being put on to estates? 

 

I don't know 

[Sledgehead]

13 hours ago, Grumpysod said:

But like people have mentioned already, we now need our politicians to show willing and put meat on them bones

WE NEED LAND

And we have it, it is now a toss of the coin, the people or the bankers and speculators.

 

 

This is the entire point.

By separating build from land, it allows buyers to focus on what is stopping them achieve their 'dream' of ownership. And if we have full factory build, that will become breathtakingly obvious pretty fast.

Quality of build? Who cares if the price is right? You telling me that UK houses are built to a high standard? Rubbish! Transplant ANY of our houses to Alaska or northern Canada or Sweden and they would fail abysmally. Put simply they would become rotten within a few short years thanks to poor heating and ventilation.

That Chinese block of flats people here think looks shoddy? Are you suggesting that a UK block of flats could fall over and stay in one piece? Then what are you talking about? The building has separated from its foundations. That's like calling a BMW cr@p because a 4ft pot-hole sent it out of control. Remember, foundations are site built - like the rest of your houses ffs! That's the bit prefab wants to minimise.

I say welcome this development. Let them put up prefabs on empty business parks, on supermarket carparks, on screw-piled stilts on flood planes.

And let them provide a range of qualities and price points, just like the car market. And let the cheap end do what it does best: drive down the price. And let the high end do what it does best: create envy.

Let the housebuilders know it's time to build or die, as customers see what can really be build when you aren't constrained by site development.

And let buyers know they can afford the substance of a home.

And let government know that they are the ONLY thing standing between people and affordable (and I mean ownable, not financeable) homes.

[steve99]

On 20/12/2016 at 7:54 AM, Saving For a Space Ship said:

Glad they called in the Chinese experts ...

Why a Chinese Real Estate Bubble Could Bring Down the Global Economy  http://www.fortune.com/2016/11/02/china-housing-bubble/

Best thing about a Chinese housing bust would be to curb their appetite for foreign housing, then the parasite developers would have to sell to real people, not just speculators laundering dodgy money.

[Saving For a Space Ship]

The Yanks are intrducing rules to improve prefab construction. Do we have anything here ?  

 

Standards for Manufactured Housing Will Mean Higher Quality and Better Comfort

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lauren-urbanek/standards-manufactured-housing-will-mean-higher-quality-and-better-comfort

Quote

Manufactured homes, which house nearly 20 million U.S. residents, are assembled in factories with a wheeled metal frame so they can be transported to sites.

They comprise about 6 percent of America’s homes and in 2015, 70,519 manufactured homes were shipped, more than the number of single-family homes built in any state except Texas.

Costing considerably less than site-built homes, manufactured homes can serve as affordable options for low- to moderate-income households. Unfortunately, the more affordable purchase price belies their higher energy costs.

The average energy cost per square foot of a manufactured home can be more than twice as high as larger single-family homes...

 

[Saving For a Space Ship]

2 minutes ago, Saving For a Space Ship said:

The Yanks are introducing rules to improve prefab construction. Do we have anything here ?  

In the L & G Uk Prefab factory, i noticed them using rockwall type fibre insulation, not  PIR rigid foam. Presumably because its cheaper.  

This is a big mistake as it far less insulative & has air pockets to contain damp. (although in certain circumstances rockwall can be good for evaporating damp ie camper vans  )

Standards for Manufactured Housing Will Mean Higher Quality and Better Comfort

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lauren-urbanek/standards-manufactured-housing-will-mean-higher-quality-and-better-comfort

 

 

Edited December 22, 2016 by Saving For a Space Ship

[SarahBell]

Didn't they introduce energy standards for rental properties here?

Oh yes.

As from the 1st April 2018 there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to normally have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020.  https://www.rla.org.uk/landlord/guides/minimum-energy-efficiency-standards.shtml