Construction BUSINESS

According to a report by Reuters, many of the UK’s leading housebuilders are planning or considering new developments of prefabricated homes in response to the prospect of Brexit cutting off supply of EU workers into Britain. The UK construction sector relies heavily on European carpenters, joiners and bricklayers. Approximately 12% of its 2.1 million construction employees come from abroad, mainly the EU, according to official figures. In London, a quarter of the 350,000 construction employees come from other EU countries, particularly Eastern Europe.

Prefabricated structures have traditionally been viewed in a negative light in the UK, dating back to the 1940s when Winston Churchill ordered thousands of cheap, flimsy units to be built to address a shortage housing after WWII.

The UK’s decision to leave the EU is fuelling the increase of off-site construction as it requires much less on-site labour. Housebuilders like Berkeley are producing their first ever factory-built home this year. The firm is planning on building 16 prefabs in southeast London and has another 50 in the pipeline for the capital. The company said it had a target of building 10% to 15% of all its houses using modular construction in the “short to medium term”

Although prefab homes match traditionally-built homes in terms of quality, the issue for many housebuilders is the upfront costs associated with setting up factories. As off-site continues to gain ground, it is expected that production costs will fall.