By Neil Stubbings, Strategic Director of Place at Havering Council, and Hugh Jeffery, Regional Development Director at Wates Residential

In May, planning permission was granted for a pilot scheme to install 18 high-quality modular homes on a site earmarked for future construction in Romford, Havering.

This represents a bold step from Havering Council and Wates Residential as part of our wider efforts to tackle spiralling housing costs and demand.

We all know the UK is facing a severe shortage of housing. While efforts to ramp up housebuilding are welcome and much needed, it will take years to provide sufficient housing through traditional construction methods to meet the increasing need and ultimately prevent people becoming homeless.

In our joint venture, we looked for a way to improve the quality of temporary accommodation while also reducing cost for local councils.

There are currently 61,000 households in London alone living in temporary accommodation. Across the nation, this costs councils £2.1 billion every year – and too often vulnerable people and families end up living in unsuitable temporary accommodation, like hotels and hostels.

“With various options available to finance the homes, there’s an exciting opportunity to save significant sums of money whilst providing the quality of homes that families and those who are homeless deserve”

Modular homes offer a practical solution. They are high quality, built to the same standards as permanent housing, and incorporate separate bedrooms, family bathrooms, a kitchen and comfortable living spaces. All these elements are needed for family life and provide a foundation for success – allowing children to complete their homework at a table, giving space for adults to prepare proper meals, and much more – helping to restore stability to those facing housing insecurity.

We worked closely with architects, suppliers, planners and manufacturers to bring this solution to life.

As pre-designed standard units, they can be constructed at least twice as quickly as a standard home. The design provides a home which has a service life of up to 60 years – making them a long-term solution for councils. They can be relocated multiple times, offering flexibility for the site and for future use.

It’s this ability to relocate the homes easily that’s enabled this scheme, which will install the homes on a site earmarked for future construction. The Waterloo Road and Queen Street site, where the modular homes will be built, is part of a major regeneration partnership that will deliver up to 5,000 new homes across the London Borough of Havering in a joint venture with Wates Residential. Due to the scale of the project, construction on this specific site isn’t expected to begin for over five years – meaning we’ve taken this opportunity to put the site to good use in the meantime.

Securing planning permission on the site in Romford follows Wates Residential’s successful modular homes schemes with Cardiff Council and the Vale of Glamorgan Council, as well as a demonstration modular home we created in London with our partners at modular manufacturers Rollalong earlier this year.

“The design provides a home which has a service life of up to 60 years – making them a long-term solution for councils. They can be relocated multiple times, offering flexibility for the site and for future use”

This demonstrator home was designed, developed, built and installed in just 70 days. It was first installed outside the Building Centre in central London before a speedy overnight move saw it take up new residence in Market Square, Romford. There, it played a vital part in explaining to local residents what the new homes planned for Waterloo Road and Queen Street would be.

The final benefit of these homes is financial. Currently, local authorities are spending millions of pounds daily on temporary accommodation; with much of this money going directly to private landlords, it represents a financial black hole for already-stretched budgets.

Bold action is now needed to break this cycle. Modular homes can be part of our solution to it – offering a chance for local authorities to invest in high-quality homes, available quickly, which the council can then own and use for up to 60 years. With various options available to finance the homes, there’s an exciting opportunity to save significant sums of money whilst providing the quality of homes that families and those who are homeless deserve.

With planning permission secured, our next step will be to construct these 18 modular homes in Romford as a pilot scheme for their use in the borough. Wates Residential is also in discussions with 15 more local authorities and housing associations to roll out this solution more widely.

We look forward to working in Havering and beyond to provide this practical, high-quality solution to support some of the hundreds of thousands of households in the UK that urgently require temporary accommodation.