A total of 18 housing associations have created a new alliance for the north of England, with a target of delivering 9,000 offsite homes each year.
The Offsite Homes Alliance (OSHA) will be led by project director Mike Ormesher, previously a director at modular firm Top Hat. Member housing associations include: Bolton at Home, Gentoo, Great Places, The Guinness Partnership, Irwell Valley, Jigsaw, Mosscare St Vincent’s, One Housing, Riverside, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, Stockport Homes, Thirteen, Together, Trafford Housing Trust, Wythenshawe Community Housing and Your Housing Group.
Currently, the alliance is focused on completing a business case and setting up the legal and operational governance, and is likely to be procuring homes by the middle of this year, with the potential to set up a joint venture in 12 to 18 months’ time.
The alliance currently has 75 supply chain partners registered on its purchasing system, and is currently evaluating 36 different offsite technologies.
The OHSA hopes to hit its target of 9,000 homes a year between 2022 and 2023, based on the current number of landlords involved in the programme.
Pete Bojar, executive director of growth and assets at Great Places said: “OSHA provides the opportunity for housing associations to drive and support the development of the offsite homes industry, leaving behind the endless ‘pilot projects’ culture to secure strong supply chain partnerships for the future.”
