M-AR and Housing 21 have come together at a ceremony to mark reaching a major milestone on their latest project, which when finished will be the largest net zero volumetric modular retirement living scheme in England.
The ceremony, which was attended by members of Doncaster Council, representatives from Housing 21 and several neighbouring residents, marked the beginning of the second major phase of construction with the very first modules being craned into site at Patent House and Patent Walk in Doncaster. Over the next week, the remaining modules will be carefully craned in and accurately positioned into place on site by expert teams from both M-AR and specialist logistics partner Lift and Locate.
All 64 modules which make up the eight retirement living bungalows and three storey retirement living apartment block have been constructed offsite in M-AR’s factory in Hull. The modules are delivered to site completely finished, right down to the electrics, plumbing and interior paintwork, and the M-AR site team will then complete the project with external cladding and landscaping.
When complete, the development will comprise six one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments alongside the eight bungalows, with the homes due to be ready for residents to move into next spring.
Deborah Hope, head of development at Housing 21, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Doncaster Council to deliver our Retirement Living Scheme Patent House and Patent Walk. This new development will provide much needed, high-quality accommodation to support local older people and their changing needs. One of the benefits of this kind of scheme is the connection to and feeling of community and being able to interact socially in a safe space that is comfortable for you.
Cabinet member for Housing and Business, Cllr Glyn Jones, commented: “As part of the five year Housing Delivery Plan, we’re always looking to improve our housing offer to older people and those within our communities with physical disabilities. These new homes meet those objectives and local residents will benefit massively.
“We are currently facing a cost of living crisis and with residents struggling with rising costs, these homes will focus on affordable rents and energy efficiency whilst also protecting and enhancing the natural environment through sustainable development.
“New housing developments, either via our own council build programme or facilitated through our Housing Association partners, will be delivered in a way that meets the needs of our residents but also respects our environment, with the aim to deliver new, well designed, energy efficient and affordable homes that match needs across the Borough.”
Mark Fox Manufacturing Director at M-AR said: “We’re proud to be working in partnership with Housing 21 once again on this, our third project with the team, as their ethos and values align perfectly with ours. It’s great to have the opportunity to pause during a project like this and celebrate what we’ve achieved so far — the craning in ceremony also gave Housing 21 the chance to watch the project quickly take shape on site, having already seen the modules on the production line in our factory a few short months ago. As well as increasing the speed of installation and limiting disruption to the local residents around the site during construction, opting for a modular offsite build is also more sustainable, allowing us to achieve net zero status on a large scheme like this too.”
Dan Macpherson Project Director at Henry Riley LLP, Project and Cost Managers, added: “We’re delighted to have been involved in the delivery of our third modular Retirement Living scheme with Housing 21 and M-AR. Achieving net zero and being trail blazers in both modular and sustainability is something we’re very proud to have been leaders on. We’ve really been able to leverage the wide-ranging benefits that MMC has to offer, we believe it is critical that these benefits continue to be celebrated and developed, and we are keen to keep working to demonstrate these to the industry as a whole.”
Housing 21 is a leading not-for-profit provider of Retirement Living and Extra Care properties for older people of modest means and this latest development in Doncaster has been designed to deliver high-quality, affordable homes for over 55s. It will offer a range of dwelling types and a mix of independent and supported living options to meet growing demand in the area, all within an affordable price.
