NU Living Modular Housing Factory, Basildon

The project will enable Swan NU Living to both increase its current production capacity of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) housing modules, as well as establish an innovative in-house capability to manufacture fabricated steel modules, which are essential for the construction of higher buildings (over 18m high) given recent changes in legislation with regard to combustible materials. This will enable Swan, already a leader in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), to deliver circa 830 new homes per annum by 2024, as well as further innovate and more efficiently produce a range of construction modules.

Swan as both a housing association and a developer of housing for sale, is partnering with a number of Local Authorities in the area, on a number of key regeneration projects, and this newly refurbished factory will facilitate reduced development costs and accelerated delivery (creating higher levels of value for money) as well as creating new and innovative jobs, building industry capacity for MMC, upskilling the local workforce and allowing for the supply of modular components to other local authorities/developers.

Funding Approval

The project was considered by Accountability Board on 20th November 2020 and the decision was made to approve the award of £4.53m GBF funding to this project, subject to the following funding condition being met:

• Provision of written confirmation from the scheme promoter that the four risks to project delivery have been mitigated.

If this funding condition is not met, the GBF funding will be reallocated to the next project on the GBF pipeline.

A project update was provided to the Accountability Board on 12th March 2021, which indicated that three of the four risks to project delivery have now been mitigated. It was agreed by the Board that it wasn’t possible to mitigate the fourth risk prior to project delivery and therefore this risk was removed from the funding condition. The funding condition has therefore been met.

Project removed from GBF Programme

At the Accountability Board on 27 January 2023 it was agreed to remove the project from the GBF programme.

£85m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

The Getting Building Fund focuses on projects that can progress quickly and that will stimulate and better integrate economies in some of the most economically impacted and COVID-affected parts of the South East.

£85m of Getting Building Fund investment has been secured, enabling delivery of 45 projects across East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock.

Find out more here