An Ilke-manufactured home is craned into place
The government is to offer £30m in funding to modular builder Ilke Homes to ‘turbo-charge’ the production of homes at its factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.
Homes England will provide the funding for the company, which sits in what the government has dubbed the “construction corridor”.
The investment will help Ilke Homes to ramp up its production to 5,000 homes within the next five years, up from 2,000 a year in 2020. The increase in production would make Ilke Homes a top 10 UK housebuilder, the government said.
The announcement from housing minister Esther McVey came after she unveiled plans last week to create a ‘centre of excellence’ in the north for modern methods of construction (MMC) to speed up construction and help the government reach its target of building 300,000 new homes each year by the mid-2020s.
McVey MP said: “The north of England has the potential to lead the world in the modern methods of construction that are transforming home building. An industry that when matured would be worth £40 billion a year and provide up to 80,000 jobs. We need to fully embrace this.
“This £30 million investment in Ilke Homes is a significant step forwards in the development of the ‘Construction Corridor’ – a new hub in the North that is front and centre of building the homes we need.
“It’s vital we invest in new technology to get Britain building. Homes built using modern methods can be of higher quality, greener and built to last.”
Dave Sheridan, executive chairman at Ilke Homes, said: “This deal is testament to the dynamic approach Homes England is taking to address structural issues within our housing and construction industries.
“The funding will bring in further private capital, creating hundreds more skilled jobs allowing us to build more homes more quickly for first-time buyers.
“We want to continue driving efficiency, quality and sustainability within the housebuilding industry and see this as a fantastic signal to others wishing to do the same.
The £30m is being allocated from the Home Building Fund, a £4.5 billion fund delivered by Homes England.
