Esther McVey tells Tory party conference scheme could tie in with Northern Powerhouse plans
The housing minister has called for the establishment of a centre for excellence to champion modern methods of construction (MMC) in the north of England.
At a series of appearances at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, Esther McVey gave her backing to off-site methods as a mechanism for boosting housing supply.
At a meeting on Sunday afternoon, organised by the National House-Bulding Council, she said the UK must look at 鈥渘ew forms of building鈥�.
McVey (pictured) said: 鈥淚t has to be the way forward, it鈥檚 not only green but value for money.鈥�
To help capitalise on the emerging concentration of off-site provision in the north of England, she said there should be a centre of excellence in the region.
鈥淲e should have that centre for construction and engineering excellence in the north. If you look at modular builders they are in the North-west, the North-east and Yorkshire. You could have an arc connecting where that investment is going.鈥�
The centre of excellence would tie in with the government鈥檚 broader Northern Powerhouse initiative, she said.
She told the main conference on Monday: 鈥淲e can set up in the North a centre of excellence for engineering and modern construction.鈥�
But Jennie Daley, group operations director at Taylor Wimpey, told the same NHBC meeting that off-site should not be viewed as a silver bullet for boosting housing output.
She said: 鈥淢MC is part of the solution but it would be wrong to see it as the solution. We will continue to build on a traditional basis.鈥�
Traditional building methods also enable developers to adapt more easily to housing market fluctuations and design issues, Daley said.
She added: 鈥淔rom a design point of view, it [MMC] can drive certain solutions rather than respond to them.鈥�
McVey also told the NHBC meeting that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will be sending 鈥楢 teams鈥� of planners to help councils struggling to complete their local plans.
鈥淲e are going to have an A-team that will helps authorities that need to deliver.鈥�
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