Flat-pack Wolverhampton council homes being flown in from Dublin
An eyesore patch of land in the Black Country is to be transformed with new homes that are being built more than 200 miles away in Dublin.
The four flat-pack homes will be made in Ireland before being flown to Wolverhampton and lifted into position on Cannock Road in Fallings Park next month.
The two-storey semi-detached houses are being made by Extraspace Solutions as part of a £600,000 pilot scheme by Wolverhampton council in conjunction with Wolverhampton Homes.
Bosses say the company in Ireland can build the homes much faster than builders here would be able to construct traditional houses on the site.
But critics say they look like ‘cheap, flat-rooved boxes’.
Innovative
Councillor Peter Bilson, deputy leader and cabinet member for city assets and housing, said: “This is an innovative way 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.”
Wolverhampton homes chief executive Shaun Aldis said: “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.”
Conservative councillor Jonathan Yardley called the decision ‘eccentric’, describing it as a step backwards to ‘post-war austerity style’ housing.
Mr Yardley, who works in the construction industry, 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.”
The council will remain the owners of the properties, which will be managed by Wolverhampton Homes.
