Enabling Housing Innovation for Inclusive Growth
In April 2020, a consortium of partners led by YTKO and including Bristol City Council, Bristol Housing Festival, BRE, and 9 leading modular housing companies were awarded an Innovate UK grant for their project, Enabling Housing Innovation for Inclusive Growth.
This is an 18 month programme working with multiple partners towards the delivery of a major Research, Development and Innovation (R,D&I) in the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
THE OPPORTUNITY
Nationally, Bristol City Council is increasingly being seen as a leader in the use of MMC housing solutions; an exemplar for the wider UK. However, it must be recognised that there are challenges and risks of ‘going first’.
Bristol has a range of social and community-led housing developments planned for 2020-21 using a spectrum of innovative MMC solutions.
The council views these housing developments as a unique opportunity for this step-changing 'demonstrator' project, with Innovate UK funding a major R,D&I programme to quantify the benefits of MMCs and deliver product, process and supply chain improvement.
The resource provided by Innovate UK funding is enabling BCC to address barriers to the delivery of new homes in a coordinated manner. In doing this BCC is looking to create a nationally replicable delivery model that encourages the use of MMC solutions, balancing the supply of new homes with growing demand.
The project outcomes include a 'council change model' supported by a decision-support 'toolbox', with the ambition in the longer term for these to enable local authorities across the UK to address development challenges by using MMC.
One of the outcomes of this project is Constructing Modern Methods (CMM).
SOCIAL VALUE
Bristol City Council’s published Social Value Policy responds to the legal obligation upon local authorities and other public bodies under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 to consider the social good that could come from the procurement of services, before they embark upon it.
This legislation, and BCC’s policy gives us an opportunity to build into procurement the wisdom of longer-term decision making, addressing issues such as the quality and the sustainability of our housing in a way that the traditional prioritisation of cost as the principal benchmark makes difficult.
A major part of this funded project is to use the opportunity to consider housing holistically, to not just build units, but to consider the implications in the way homes and communities are built and the knock-on effects of these decisions.
PARTNERS
This project is only possible through the collaboration of the multiple stakeholders involved.
