109 more homes in the South West

An innovative partnership has agreed to create more than 100 modern, energy-efficient new homes for people in the South West. 

Housing association Magna, Wiltshire Council and Dorset-based manufacturer Rollalong joined forces last year to tackle the housing crisis using modular building methods. They have pledged to build nearly 1,000 new affordable homes by 2026. 

Magna and Wiltshire have now taken another step towards that goal by placing orders for Rollalong to manufacture 109 new, modular homes for five sites across two counties. 

The partners have used their joint purchasing power to get better value under a money-saving framework created by the South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA).  

Magna will make 26 of the homes available for affordable rent or shared ownership in Dorset. They will include 14 at Webber’s Piece in Maiden Newton and 12 at the site of the former Royal Manor Arts College on Portland, adding to the 29 Rollalong has already manufactured for the 41-home development. 

In Wiltshire, the council will create a further 83 new affordable homes across three sites within the county. 

Rollalong uses precision engineering techniques to manufacture high-quality modern homes as modules in its factory near Wimborne Minster. These are then transported, fully fitted with kitchens, bathrooms and electrics, to sites where they will become attractive, energy efficient homes. 

Modular manufacturing has potential to deliver much-needed new homes faster and more sustainably than traditional brick housebuilding. Overall, the process generates less waste and has a lower carbon footprint. It also creates less disruption to local people, with fewer deliveries to site over a shorter time.  

The partners’ latest range of modular house types are built to be ‘net zero in use’, in line with the Government’s proposed Future Homes Standard, which will require new homes built from 2025 to produce 75-80% less carbon. The all-electric homes will be heated by air-source heat pumps, with a thermally efficient fabric retaining warmth and helping residents keep their energy bills lower.  

The homes can be tailored to the local, often rural setting, with a range of house types and finishes influenced by customer feedback. The partners also have the only modular approach in the UK accredited by the National Housing-Building Council (NHBC) able to ‘step and stagger’ terraces of houses so that they have more visual variety. 

Magna and Rollalong have already completed 32 new modular homes across sites in Sherborne, Chickerell and Dorchester.  

Tony and his husband Kevin recently moved in to their new, rented, modular home at Eddison Avenue in Dorchester. Tony said:

“We’re so happy in our home. We’re warmer than we have been in years. We absolutely love it and cannot believe how lucky we are.”  

Paul Read, Magna’s Director of Sustainability and Investment, said: 

“These are among the most important new homes Magna has delivered, with our ambition to build the right homes of the right quality in the right places. By collaborating with others and modernising how we build, we are creating homes for local people that will help address the cost of living, energy challenges and contribute towards the UK’s net zero targets. 

“Thanks to Government retrofit funding, we also have the opportunity to decarbonise our existing homes, including those neighbouring the new, modular houses at Webbers Piece. These older homes will benefit from external wall insulation, new windows and doors, and air-source heat pumps. The timing means we can look at creating a real sense of place in this rural community.” 

Steve Chivers, Managing Director of Rollalong, said: 

“We are delighted to have been awarded this latest contract by Magna Housing and Wiltshire Council to design and build a further 109 modular homes under the partnership. 

“The aim of our innovative partnership is to deliver almost 1,000 high-quality, affordable, Net Zero-ready future homes in the South West using a local workforce and local suppliers. 

“Manufacturing homes offsite in modules is the future for our industry, and our unique partnership provides the volumes we need to make these modern methods of construction work. 

“These are the homes of the future designed for living today, and we’re pleased to have the opportunity to promote the benefits of modular housing as a response to a nationwide housing crisis.” 

Cllr Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing at Wiltshire Council, said:  

“We’re delighted to continue our positive and hugely productive partnership with Magna and Rollalong.  

“The houses are built in the most innovative and efficient way, resulting in quality affordable homes for Wiltshire residents, which is a key mission of our business plan. 

“Our aim as a council to build 1,000 affordable over a ten-year period is really gathering momentum and we’re committed to successfully achieving that for our communities.” 

Mary Bennell, Director of SWPA, said: 

“We have worked closely with Magna and Wiltshire Council to provide the innovative procurement solutions required to meet their housing aspirations.  

“We were especially proud to support the project by developing a detailed easy to use methodology for assessing the social value outputs at an individual project level for both clients.” 

As world leaders meet in Glasgow to formulate a plan to tackle climate change at COP26, our Managing Director Steve Chivers says offsite construction should be seen as part of the solution to the problem.

3rd November 2021

It’s clear now that we are approaching the point of no return when it comes to reversing the damaging effects of our CO2 emissions on our environment.

The construction industry has to step up and play its part. According to the Technology Strategy Board the construction, operation and maintenance of the built environment accounts for 45% of total UK carbon emissions (27% from domestic buildings and 18% from non-domestic buildings).

To reduce this negative impact we have to find new, greener ways of constructing buildings, and we have to design buildings with a low or zero carbon footprint. This means adapting from the bricks and mortar, ground up approach which the industry has adhered to for centuries and adopting modern methods of construction (MMC) instead.

Rollalong adopts three key steps to deliver clients’ key targets in relation to sustainability.  Where clients set building design aims to exceed current zero carbon building standards, the following areas are considered:

Firstly, the fabric-first approach with all our buildings: the highly insulated walls, floors, roof, the high-performance windows and doors, and the air tightness of the building fabric mean that all Rollalong buildings exceed current Building Regulations as standard.

Next is energy efficiency: the use of mechanical ventilation heat recovery systems (MVHR), waste water heat recovery systems (WWHR), LED lighting and efficient water fittings further lower emissions in all our buildings.

We then introduce renewable energy technologies: we start by replacing the fossil fuel gas boiler with highly efficient air source heat pumps to provide space heating and hot water. Heat pumps require just a third of the energy of conventional heating systems, and they use use electricity to compress the energy in the outside air to warm our buildings.

Finally, our buildings can be fitted with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate their own electricity to offset energy use to Net Zero Carbon targets and beyond.

The embodied carbon in modular buildings is lower than that of traditionally constructed schemes. Rollalong is targeting a 75% reduction in the whole-life carbon emissions of its buildings by 2030.

Because buildings created in a factory setting are manufactured to precise requirements, MMC can reduce waste on site by up to 90% compared to traditional construction, and much of this waste can then be recycled rather than sent to landfill. At Rollalong at least 95% of our waste is recycled.

Our building projects also have a smaller impact on the local environment on site. Using MMC, buildings are manufactured in highly controlled conditions in a factory. Offsite methods generate significantly less noise and less dust on site.

Modular construction also reduces vehicle movements to and from the construction site, so the toxic fumes and carbon emissions are reduced too. A building site using offsite modular methods reduces vehicle movements to and from the site by up to 90%, so heavy traffic created by large, dirty trucks can be avoided, and disruption to local residents is kept to a minimum.

What’s more, it’s considerably faster to build a modular building than it is to build from the ground up using bricks and mortar – up to 50% faster. As our buildings take less time to manufacture and install, we use less energy.

We are watching COP26 with interest and we look forward to further announcements of UK Government support for MMC as a construction method which can help the UK to achieve its Net Zero target by 2050.

22nd October 2021

We’ve put together a video using drone footage which captures the journey our modular homes took from our factory near Bournemouth to Sherborne 40 miles away. 

The factory-built, energy-efficient, low-carbon, affordable homes were built offsite and are now being installed in Barton Gardens in Sherborne, Dorset. 

“We are extremely proud of our regional delivery model which could be rolled out throughout the UK to help solve the housing crisis,” said Steve Chivers, Managing Director of Rollalong. 

“Local communities built by local people, using local manufacturers for local people – we are creating systemic change in our transition toward a circular economy in the South West.”
 
The homes in Barton Gardens were designed in collaboration with our client Magna Housing to ensure a product-led mindset, championing high quality, energy efficiency, design flexibility and consumer choice. 

“The support given by Homes England to the MMC sector has certainly had a significant impact on the uptake of this construction method, and this has helped modern methods of construction to gain traction in the development of social and affordable housing across the country,” Steve added. 

The Offsite Construction of New Homes (NH2) framework from the South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA) was the procurement route for this project. Director Mary Bennell said: “These homes are extremely important to the region and we are glad to be able to see them be delivered. We look forward to watching this project progress.”

Watch the video here. 

1st October 2021

We opened our factory doors yesterday (30^th September) to welcome officials from Homes England.

Our guests were able to walk around the factory, seeing various homes in different stages of production from initial steel frame assembly to near completion, ready for transport to site.

Paul Kitson (Director of High Growth and New Settlements), Edward Jezeph (Senior Manager, Product Development), Catherine Turner (Head of High Growth Areas and New Settlements) and Sarah Hayes (Senior Partnership and Business Development Manager) took a tour of our manufacturing facility and heard a presentation by our Managing Director Steve Chivers.

Also present were Paul Read (Director of Sustainability and New Supply at Magna Housing), Jamie Turpin (Construction and Development Director at our parent company Newship Group), Iain Steele (Projects Director at Rollalong) and Laura Katon (Business Development Manager at Rollalong).

“It was great to welcome Homes England to witness the evolution of factory-built, energy-efficient, low-carbon, affordable homes planned for delivery throughout Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset,” said Steve Chivers.

“We are extremely proud to showcase our regional delivery model which could be rolled out throughout the UK to help solve the housing crisis. Local communities built by local people, using local manufacturers for local people – we are creating systemic change in our transition toward a circular economy in the South West.”

The homes being manufactured in our factory have been designed in collaboration with our partner Magna Housing to ensure a product-led mindset, championing high quality, energy efficiency, design flexibility and consumer choice.

“Bringing together the registered housing provider, the MMC manufacturer and the land facilitator / grant funder in a collaborative dialogue was very helpful, and this sort of dialogue will be the key to developing successful relationships in the future” Steve added.

“The support given by Homes England to the MMC sector has certainly had a significant impact on the uptake of this construction method, and this has helped modern methods of construction to gain traction in the development of social and affordable housing across the country.”

Good news to start the week! We’re delighted to have successfully handed over a new science room facility at Harrow Way Community School in Andover a week ahead of schedule.

The new modular chemistry classroom features gas connections fitted throughout the room and was constructed at our factory in Dorset before being installed on site at the school.

12th August 2021

Using modern methods of construction (MMC) to develop social housing really is as easy as 1, 2, 3! 

The South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA) is encouraging smaller social landlords across the South and South West to take advantage of MMC to provide high-quality, energy-efficient homes for their residents.  

Working in partnership with Dorchester-based Magna Housing and Wiltshire Council, SWPA has published a simple guide called Easy as 1, 2, 3.  

The guide highlights the proven route to procurement and delivery via SWPA and explains how the Magna Housing portfolio of homes can be customised and adapted to meet the local context and the requirements of the people who will live in them.  

It also sets out how clients can achieve efficient delivery and cost savings by placing a bulk order.  

SWPA is an expert in public sector procurement and offers free-to-use frameworks.   

Magna Housing has 100 modular homes manufactured for delivery by Rollalong across Dorset.   

Wiltshire Council was the first to see the value in working in partnership and using a ready-made portfolio to prove the concept of offsite manufacture – which is why it was the first to join the cluster.  

To download the guide visit https://www.swpa.org.uk/media/exvntkgj/swpa-easy_booklet-v5-1.pdf.