Little Lever homes will be a first for Bolton | News

A Bolton at Home development of 22 new affordable homes to be built in Little Lever will be the first of its kind in the borough.

The development, on land off Victory Road, will feature innovative modular homes that are manufactured in a factory then delivered and assembled on site.

The process enables the energy-efficient homes to be installed in around two weeks per property once groundworks, services and landscaping are in place.

The precision-engineered units are built in North Yorkshire by the ground-breaking modular housebuilder ilke Homes, which works with housing associations and local authorities to accelerate the delivery of new homes.

The homes manufactured for Bolton at Home will be completed on site by main contractor, energy and regeneration specialist; ENGIE.

The modern approach to housebuilding means the development can be completed in around nine months, compared to the usual 12 months plus for a scheme of this size built using traditional methods.

Funded by Homes England, the two and three-bedroom homes will be made available for affordable rent. The development was granted planning permission by Bolton Council’s planning committee in March.

Paul Philbin, our head of development and home ownership, said: "These homes will be a first for Bolton for this method of construction for affordable housing and are also among the first of their kind in the country at this scale.

“We’re proud to be embracing these modern methods of construction, which have the potential to be the future for of us in terms of the way we deliver new affordable homes.

“Once complete, there’s no way of knowing by looking at them, or by being inside them, that these homes are manufactured off-site - they look and feel like any traditionally built home. The fact that the homes are factory made also means that overall fewer deliveries, wagons and contractors are needed on site, which means less disruption for local residents.”

Steve Gregory, Head of New Build at ENGIE, said: “We’re incredibly excited about this project as it will provide Bolton with their first off-site manufactured homes. 

“ENGIE are market leaders in innovative solutions. We use our land sourcing and construction platform to identify and secure land, plan, design and build properties right across the UK.

“These new homes will be a fantastic addition to Bolton and we look forward to starting this project and working closely with our partners to provide new opportunities for families and support the regeneration of the local area.”

David Jones, construction managing director, at ilke Homes said: "This scheme is poised to become an exemplar of community-focussed development and will provide a window to the future of housebuilding. We are very proud that ilke homes has been selected to deliver Bolton's first ever offsite engineered homes. We’re looking forward to seeing the development complete and getting reaction from the local community.”

The highly-insulated homes are made up of a lightweight steel frame and a brick and render finish. The ground floor, first floor and roof are delivered to site in separate completed sections.

The sections are then put together and connected to electricity and water services. The homes comply with all usual building regulations and carry all the necessary new home guarantees and warranties.

Work on the development is starting and will be completed in March 2020. The homes will be accessed through a new cul-de-sac created off Victory Road. All the homes in the development will benefit from car parking, gardens and associated landscaping.

The development is part of our plans to introduce 1,400 new properties to the local affordable housing market by April 2024.

The picture above is an example of the precision-engineered pre-built house-type that will used at Victory Road.