Construction BUSINESS

Leading rapid-build home manufacturer FastHouse has announced the completion of its contract to provide and erect the timber frames for 466 lodges at the highly anticipated Center Parcs in Longford in under nine months. This comes as FastHouse confirms significant investment to bring its full range of services to the Irish house building market. In 2019 FastHouse will be in position to deliver 1,500 units annually with significantly lower costs and reduced construction time.

The Limavady-based business, owned by Kevin Lagan, has invested heavily with the aim of becoming the largest producer of offsite panelised wall systems in Ireland and the UK. It began work at the €233 million leisure attraction in January in what was the company’s first venture into the Irish market. It included the delivery of ten different types of homes, ranging in size from 865 sq ft to 2,045 sq ft – the equivalent of two to four-bedroom homes.

The contract was awarded by John Sisk & Son – the main contractor of the 400-acre Longford Forest site – and saw FastHouse’s Installation Team install the lodges at a rate of three per day to the highest global standards. Typically, FastHouse homes take two days from factory production to watertight and weatherproof installation on-site.

Center Parcs Longford Forest is set to open in the Summer of 2019 with capacity for 2,500 guests. It will feature 30 apartments, more than 100 indoor and outdoor family activities, state-of-the-art restaurants, shops, an award-winning Aqua Sana Spa and Center Parcs’ iconic Subtropical Swimming Paradise.

Sean Fox, FastHouse Sales and Installations Director, said: “It shows the progression we have made in a short time that we are showcasing the quality of our rapid-build homes at a high-profile location like Center Parcs. It’s an attraction renowned for its high standards and thousands of holidaymakers will be able to see first-hand the first-class quality of our homes. Rapid-build, which involves bespoke precision work in the factory and less time and cost on-site, can make a huge contribution to the needs of the Irish residential market. We’re delighted to be involved in such an exciting new venture for the country.”

FastHouse’s expert team was able to install 466 homes in as little as 34 weeks with the company’s factory producing an average of five houses per day. In total 14,000 wall panels were crafted for the contract with lodges taking just two weeks to produce from inception.

Cormac Fitzpatrick, Sisk Senior Contracts Manager, added: “To deliver a resort of this size required strong partnerships and we’re very pleased with the completion of this phase of what will be one of Ireland’s premier destinations. With FastHouse manufacturing the lodges offsite it was a case of the panels and trusses being delivered to location and installing them in a kit format. This allowed the construction process to be lean, resulting in the productive and efficient development of the Center Parcs project.”

Paul Kent, Center Parcs Construction and Development Director, said: “Our lodges are a key component of the Center Parcs experience and it is essential they are of the highest quality. FastHouse has provided top-class craftmanship that will allow thousands of families to enjoy a short break at Center Parcs Longford Forest each year.”

Center Parcs is FastHouse’s largest project to date with previous work including a range of residential developments across Northern Ireland and the UK and a number of holiday lodges at the award-winning Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel & Spa in Enniskillen. The demand has seen the company install a third production line leading it to double the size of its workforce to 100 this year.

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Pictured are: Sisk Senior Contracts Manager Cormac Fitzpatrick, Center Parcs Construction and Development Director Paul Kent and FastHouse Sales and Installations Director Sean Fox.