The construction of three new homes in a single day at the Three Oaks development on the Isle of Wight has demonstrated the potential of modern methods of construction (MMC) and underlined the impressive capability of the local workforce to address housing needs on the island.
The feat was the centrepiece of an event organised by Sovereign Network Group and construction partner Captiva Homes, who are building the 145 affordable homes at the Three Oaks development in Newport. This project is significant as it represents the Island’s largest affordable housing development in several years. Staying true to the local community, Isle of Wight-based Gibbs Timber Frame, completed the erection of a collection of three homes in a single working day. This impressive demonstration highlights how the Three Oaks development is embracing MMC to boost sustainability and accelerate build times.
Each home at Three Oaks will be built to SNG’s market-leading framework, the Homes and Place Standard. Developed with customers in mind, the standard assesses the quality of each SNG home, ensuring every home built prioritises sustainability, health, well-being and community creation. The homes at Three Oaks are some of the first in a new portfolio of standard house and apartment types that have delivered greater than 75% carbon reduction, meeting the forthcoming requirements of the Future Homes Standard. The homes are therefore warmer when required, healthier, cheaper to run and better for the customer’s environment.
Senior representatives from the Isle of Wight Council, including Council Leader Cllr Phil Jordan and Deputy Leader Cllr Ian Stephens, joined leading figures from SNG and Captiva Homes to witness the demonstration. Three Oaks is a priority project in the council’s strategy to address local housing requirements on the Island, where there has been a 60% increase in demand for temporary accommodation over the past two years in the face of declining rental housing stock.
SNG, Captiva Homes, and the Isle of Wight Council’s Housing and Planning teams have worked closely to ensure the mix of housing truly designed to meet local needs, including the delivery of specific homes for up to eight-person families currently in Council-provided temporary accommodation. The development will be split between 87 homes available for social rent and 58 for Shared Ownership.
Cllr Phil Jordan, Leader of the Isle of Wight Council commented: “Delivering affordable housing for the Isle of Wight is a major priority for the council. To do so at scale will require ingenuity and close collaboration, and this open day has been an excellent demonstration of both of those qualities. It has also provided a vital platform to discuss optimum ways forward with local stakeholders and see first-hand the impressive plans SNG and Captiva have for the delivery of Three Oaks.”
Attendees observed the staged assembly process; beginning with ground floor panels being lifted into place in the morning, followed by first-floor cassettes, and culminating with the roofing structure in the afternoon, all helped along by favourable weather for the time of year. The precision and close collaboration between teams showed how efficiently MMC can be applied in residential construction, and also showcased the local construction expertise on the Island.
Joe Marshall, Regional Managing Director at SNG said: “This collaborative event has shown how we can address housing shortages while delivering homes that meet the highest environmental and community standards via SNG’s Homes and Place Standard. The pace of construction and commitment to quality on display today has been inspiring, and signals the way forward for housing delivery at scale using MMC both here on the Isle of Wight and across the UK.”
Iain Delaney, CEO of Captiva Homes stated: “The event has highlighted how partnerships and available technologies can help tackle the Island’s housing crisis and underlined how local manufacturers and stakeholders will be at the heart of new homes delivery here. We are grateful to all the talented professionals who have lent their expertise to erect these three homes in a single day, and hope the demonstration serves as inspiration for further projects across the Island and beyond.”
The event included a tour of the nearby Gibbs Timber Frame factory, providing an insight into the off-site construction process that underpins MMC. Six new employment positions have opened up at Gibbs Timber Frame as a result of the Three Oaks contract, underlining the wider local economic benefits of new house building.
Ashley Gibbs, Managing Director at Gibbs Timber Frame, shared his enthusiasm for the project: “This is an exciting opportunity for us and for the Isle of Wight. Building at scale has always been a challenge here, and we are thrilled to be part of a solution that brings much-needed homes to the community. The size of this project has also allowed us to expand our team, creating six new jobs—fantastic news for the local economy.”
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