News

The first modular home provided by Wiltshire Council is being installed on a site in Durrington.

Manufactured by Dorset-based Rollalong, the two-bedroom accessible bungalow on New Road in Durrington is the first to be commissioned by the council using Modern Methods of Construction, or MMC. Wiltshire Council is delivering more than 150 such homes across the county. Factory construction means they are quality checked, highly insulated and draught free, and residents will be able to move in soon – the properties arrive decorated and already fitted out with kitchens and bathrooms.

“It’s really rewarding for everyone involved in the project to see this modular building take shape on site,” said Councillor Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing at Wiltshire Council. “The team from Rollalong are experts at manoeuvring the units precisely into place and the bungalow will be ready for occupation in a fraction of the time on site that it would take in a conventionally built home.

“We are adapting to the demand for more sustainable and efficient methods of construction and adopting this growing technology to deliver around 150 new homes across the country. “With their brick slips, render and roof tiles, it’s hard to tell our MMC homes from traditional builds. “The quality of the building is really impressive – inspectors from the National House Building Council have monitored every step of the process. I’m looking forward to rolling out this technology to more sites across the county and to see our house-building continue to make progress in such an innovative way.” These modular homes are zero carbon in use thanks to air source heat pumps, smart controls, and solar panels. The modules can be configured as bungalows, flats, or houses to suit residents’ needs.

Last year Magna Housing and Wiltshire Council joined forces to address the housing crisis, appointing Rollalong via the South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA) Offsite Construction of New Homes framework to build nearly 1,000 new homes over the next three years.

Rollalong champions the production of MMC homes and is the largest offsite design and build contractor in the south of England. “We were delighted to be awarded the contract by Magna Housing and Wiltshire Council to design and build these modular homes that will provide a range of high-quality, affordable housing for everyone,” said Steve Chivers, Managing Director of Rollalong.

“We are building the homes of the future designed for living today. We want to demystify modular housing and champion the benefits that this style of housing can provide in the face of a nationwide housing crisis. “We are now creating jobs and apprenticeships in the South West, using local supply chain partners, and creating systemic change in our transition towards a circular economy in the region.”

SWPA places great importance on sustainable and environmentally friendly construction methods, aiding in the production and implementation of enhanced energy performance and net zero carbon projects. The organisation emphasises the need to meet the ‘Gold Standard’, promotes early collaboration, and brings clients together for aggregation of demand in the delivery of net zero public sector buildings, to support public bodies in meeting their net zero commitments for their new build projects.

SWPA is the South West hub of the LHC Procurement Group, a not-for-profit central purchasing body which develop frameworks for public-sector use. “The site at Durrington is a great example of the collaboration between Wiltshire Council, Magna Housing, Rollalong and SWPA in providing high-quality homes which are cost efficient and eco-friendly, include net zero appliances and are no different aesthetically from traditional builds,” said SWPA Regional Manager, Penny Searson.

“This two-bedroom accessible bungalow for Durrington is the first of Wiltshire Council’s MMC homes and further demonstrates the need and provision for more MMC housing.” The Durrington development is just the latest stage in a roll-out of new modular homes by Rollalong and its partners across the South West. Rollalong has already manufactured 120 homes and completed the first five sites in Sherborne, Halstock and Dorchester in Dorset for Magna Housing.

- - - - - - - - 

Notes for Editors:

Wiltshire Council

Wiltshire Council has committed to a 10-year programme to deliver 1,000 new affordable houses across the county. The homes will deliver a mixture of rented and shared ownership, while also delivering zero carbon homes. 

At a time of surging energy prices and the challenges and worry this could cause residents, these homes will offer customers lower energy use and warm, draught-free homes. The programme has been exploring opportunities to develop the homes through offsite manufacture. This approach offers increased quality control and speed and reduces site traffic. Wiltshire Council has been working closely with Magna Housing to tender for a manufacturer to work with to deliver 996 homes over a three-year period. 

Working together while utilising the South West Procurement Alliance Framework, Magna Housing and Wiltshire Council have been able to drive efficiencies and share good practice to develop a specification that offers homes built to impressive energy efficiency ratings, with space for modern living and opportunities for expansion if needed.

Magna Housing

Magna Housing is a medium-sized, forward-looking housing association, providing high-quality and affordable homes across Dorset and Somerset. Its main activities are the construction, management, and acquisition of non-market housing. They own and manage nearly 9,000 properties and have a workforce of about 450 people. They aim to build 500 more homes over the next three years.

Their vision is to create great homes together and they work closely with customers and partners to deliver this.They provide a range of homes, tenures, and services, from rental to shared ownership; from leaseholds to sheltered; from garages to handyman services. They aim to be part of their community and create communities where people choose to live.  Magna Housing can do this because they are large enough to influence but small enough to care.   

Rollalong

• Established in 1932, Rollalong is the largest permanent offsite construction company in the south of England, specialising in the development and manufacture of permanent offsite homes.

• The average number of workers at Rollalong is 220, made up of 40 directly employed factory workers, 30 factory subcontractors, 40 office staff, 10 directly employed site workers and 100 site subcontractors.

• Rollalong has over 50 years of experience in the rapid and risk-free delivery of quality, bespoke and modular buildings for all market sectors.
• Rollalong has a proven track record of delivered effective modular buildings across the public sector, including housing for the Ministry of Defence as well as new schools and school extensions and healthcare facilities.
• In the private sector, Rollalong has been commissioned to design and build a range of homes.

SWPA

The South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA) is the South West hub of the LHC Procurement Group, a not-for-profit central purchasing body which develop frameworks and procurement solutions for public sector use. With newly launched frameworks, SWPA’s re-tendering of key retrofit and decarbonisation procurement solutions, supports public sector organisations on the journey to carbon net zero and comply with government guidelines around building life safety and compliance.

Established in 1966, it provides high-quality, innovative frameworks, and other procurement products, for public-sector clients. With 30 years of delivering energy efficiency solutions to the public sector, SWPA and the LHC Procurement Group are dedicated to shaping Britain’s net zero future. SWPA supports clients throughout the project lifecycle, from the procurement process all the way through to the completion of projects, through its locally and centrally based technical and procurement resources.