‘Our region is home to pioneering expertise in modern methods of construction’
The Liverpool City Region is the first area in the UK to be selected in an £85m pilot to help 1.5m homes be built across the country. Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the scheme would help “get Britain building again”.
The UK Government has announced today, March 19, a new £85m drive “to overhaul how Britain delivers sustainable social housing, schools, hospitals and public infrastructure”. This is “in a bid to boost a sector worth more than £250 billion a year to the UK economy”.
Called the Industrialising and Digitalising Construction Challenge, the scheme will see the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and partners in the construction industry work together to try and improve productivity, reduce the time it takes to build, reduce waste, improve sustainability, and create high-skilled employment. It is hoped the scheme will help the UK Government to reach a national target of building 1.5m new homes and unlock £27bn of economic growth as well as 380,000 new jobs.
Locally the scheme will work with Onward Homes and Torus Developments who will “test and refine the approach by trialling it in two social housing schemes”. This will “transform social housing delivery in its first phase” with any findings applied across the country.
Mr Rotheram said: “Having started my own career as a bricklayer, I understand first-hand the pressures facing the construction sector. But to deliver on the government’s mission to get Britain building again, it needs to adapt with the times.
“I’m incredibly proud that our area has been chosen as the first national pilot to modernise construction. Our region is home to pioneering expertise in modern methods of construction, advanced manufacturing and digital innovation, with the talent and political will to lead from the front.
“If we get this right, we won’t just build the next generation of affordable social housing, schools and hospitals – we’ll strengthen UK supply chains, boost productivity, and give manufacturers the confidence to invest in skills and capacity, helping to create good jobs, and drive growth across the country”.
UK Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “We are beginning our mission to transform the UK’s construction industry in Liverpool – a city which has long been at the forefront of innovation and creativity. The digital technologies and manufacturing methods developed here will help us speed up how we can build more homes, schools, and hospitals right across the UK.
“This work will help us set the benchmark for how we deliver high-quality infrastructure more efficiently, directly benefitting communities. By supporting this initiative, we are backing more high-skilled jobs for Liverpool while also bringing our construction industry into the digital age.”