First tenants moving into flat-pack homes in Wolverhampton
The first tenants have moved into flat-pack homes in Wolverhampton which have been built more than 200 miles away.
The four homes were made in Dublin before being flown to the city and lifted into position on Cannock Road in Fallings Park.
They were craned into place at the end of January to have brick 'skins' added and be connected to utilities.
Council bosses said the homes are the first of their kind delivered by the authority alongside Wolverhampton Homes.
Enabling works on the £600,000 pilot scheme, which is part of the council’s newbuild council housing programme on small sites, started in November.
Chiefs said 'severe weather in the form of snow and freezing temperatures' delayed completion of the project – but it still took less than half of the time of a traditional build to complete them.
Wolverhampton council's director for housing Kate Martin said: “This project is yet another example of how the council is using innovative ways to accelerate house building in Wolverhampton.
“Clearly, larger housing developments are crucial to meeting our housing targets – but the cumulative effect of smaller scale projects like this is also vital to improving our offer.”
Shaun Aldis, chief executive at Wolverhampton Homes, added: “We’re really excited about this scheme.
“Modular buildings have many benefits over traditional construction including a shorter construction time, reduced site disruption and more consistent quality.
“This means we can provide more council housing, more quickly, without too much disruption to the people living next to the build site.”
The homes will remain in the ownership of the city council and are being managed by Wolverhampton Homes.
However, not everyone has welcomed the new flat-pack homes – when the scheme was revealed earlier this year, Conservative councillor Jonathan Yardley describing the homes plans as a step backwards to ‘post-war austerity style’ housing.
He said: “These are the first proper council houses in Wolverhampton for many years but we seem to have gone for the cheapest option.
"Ireland does specialise in pre-cast materials but it’s a shame these homes could not be built in the traditional way using local labour and materials.
“These just look like flat-rooved boxes.
“It’s very much going back to the days of cheap, bog-standard council housing – it’s a regressive step.”
