Developer Berkeley Group has launched a £2m fund in an attempt to find ideas that will address the UK’s housing shortage while also creating a safer working environment and “change the way people think and work in construction”.
The Innovation Fund will award grants of between £250 and £250,000 over the next two years to anyone with a bright idea, which will lead to “safer sites, a healthier workforce or develop the people who work in construction”.
Applicants – who can be individuals, companies or institutions such a universities – can find out more, and submit proposals on the innovation fund’s website.
In a press release announcing the initiative, the company refers to the loss of 42 lives and 5000 serious injuries on building sites in England in 2013, in the context of an industry that is expected to increase production and build on challenging sites in busy city areas.
“The sheer volume of work going on is testing the industry,” “Companies and staff are running flat out to gear up production and tackle the housing crisis.”
Rob Perrins, Berkeley Group
Rob Perrins, managing director of the Berkeley Group, said: “The sheer volume of work going on is testing the industry. Companies and staff are running flat out to gear up production and tackle the housing crisis.
“The industry is having to work with less experienced people, in multiple languages, with plant and equipment in high demand. That generates fresh hazards in a business that is inherently risky.
“Fundamentally, I don’t believe this is a problem you can solve directly with money. It demands fresh ideas, which is where the Innovation Fund comes in.”
UK housing developer the Berkley Group completed 3,742 new homes in the year ended 30 April 2014, earning revenues of £1.6bn, with £292m profit.
