Liverpool City Region to Pioneer Modern Methods of Construction to boost Economic Recovery
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has today announced the launch of a programme that could make the city region a national centre of excellence for modern methods of construction for housing and related infrastructure.
The programme will develop cutting edge technology to retrofit existing homes and build new homes with new, state-of-the-art, methods of construction. It is being developed in a collaboration between the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), the Construction Innovation Hub, Peel Land and Property, Torus Group, Housing Associations, and Industry Partners.
The programme will aim to retrofit 10,000 homes over the next ten years, bringing them up to at least the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) “C” rating for energy efficiency, as part of a post-COVID recovery stimulus package, whilst developing and upskilling the workforce by applying new methods and systems of refurbishments and construction.
Under the new build element of the programme, the MTC and LCR stakeholders have aggregated an initial pipeline of over 6,500 homes to be built over 10 years. At the same time, it will support the development and success of the modular, digitised manufacturing sector in the LCR, increasing productivity, ensuring a strong supply of employment opportunities across the supply chain and supported by an apprenticeship programme.
Today’s announcement marks the beginning of the first phase of the LCR National Centre of Excellence in Modern Methods of Construction for Homes project, one of the key projects in the city region’s £9 billion ‘Building Back Better’ economic recovery plan, launched in August.
The programme will focus on an initial pilot using a sample of Torus properties, which will provide insight and intelligence to inform a larger programme. Torus is a social purpose regeneration and housing group, the largest in the North West where all profits are reinvested to build stronger communities.
Speaking about the project, Steve Rotheram said:
“Even in difficult times, our region is constantly looking for better ways of doing things. The Modern Methods of Construction project has the potential to be an industry-leader in new and innovative ways getting houses built and, I hope, help to tackle the UK’s housing crisis.
“This also has the potential to radically improve energy efficiency across the region through a comprehensive retrofitting scheme, which should not only address energy poverty in some of our poorest communities but help us save the planet too.
“Whilst we fight for existing jobs we have now, especially in the hospitality sector, it is vital that we focus on pushing forwards in developing new sectors and skills that will bring us thousands of new jobs post-COVID-19.
“The past few months have been exceptionally difficult, but I am determined that our region will Build Back Better from them. I’ll be doing all I can make our region greener, fairer and more resilient than before.”
The Modern Methods of Construction programme will develop specialist technologies which aim to achieve significant reductions on initial and life cycle costs, halve delivery times, and realise the following benefits:
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