Right to buy, which allows tenants in social housing to buy their homes, ended on the 1st of August 2016. The Scottish Government documented that by ending the Right to Buy up to 15,500 social homes are protected from sale over the next ten years, safeguarding this stock for future generations.
The Scottish Government has also committed to delivering an ambitious target of 50,000, affordable homes over the lifetime of this Parliament, including 35,000 social homes.
So how does this reshape Scotland’s Social Housing landscape and assist in achieving new housing targets on time and on budget? Steve Hardy, JMD of offsite specialists Sidey tells us that offsite construction is absolutely the way forward in delivering cost effective, long term thermally efficient, and quick to deliver dwellings for residents currently on waiting lists and for future generations.
“ The abolishment of the ‘Right to buy Scheme’ in Scotland is most definitely a step in the right direction to reducing waiting lists for affordable housing, however demand is still outweighing supply. It has been well documented by the Scottish Government and the SFHA (Scottish Federation of Housing Associations) that Scotland desperately needs more affordable homes in order to solve its current housing crisis, and although there has been a commitment to delivering at least 50,000 new affordable homes, backed by more than £3 billion, over the lifetime of this parliament, there are other factors impacting on the sector’s ability to deliver increased numbers of affordable housing. The key issues are planning, availability of affordable land and access to skilled workers.
Offsite Construction is the solution
“The solution to these problems has to lie in the growth of offsite construction. Costs are now no more than when building through standard construction methods, but the two huge pluses are the delivery of better buildings by design, and delivery on time”.
“There is a growing lobby of government agencies, procurement organisations, and individual housing associations all reviewing whether they should directly invest into, or partner with offsite manufacturing factories; they are recognising that the housing crisis which the country faces is being exacerbated by a basic failure in the construction sector – an inability to deliver on time”.
“Offsite is well and truly proven as a construction option and it is the way forward for the housing sector wanting to build better quality homes; cost effectively, and most importantly sure to be delivered on time”.
Offsite construction automatically brings a collaborative approach to the supply chain
“One of the great benefits to a company such as Sidey, is the opportunity for us to get involved at the design team stage, to work collaboratively with the architects, the constructors, and the clients themselves; to understand exactly what they want, and to offer them bespoke solutions, and to ensure that our element of the build – enhanced specification windows and doors, air-tightness and offsite installation solutions compliments the whole of the construction process”.
There is capacity in the offsite market to fill the growing demand in a controlled and health and safety conscious way, and at the same time to offer the social housing sector the best products on the market to give them a long term return on their investment and further reduce waiting lists of thousands waiting on affordable housing”.
Contact Sidey for more information on the unique offsite solution for installing windows and doors offsite – KitFix® and Scan the QR code to watch KitFix® in action.
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