Modular housing manufacturer Stelling Properties has invested £3m in a product line that offers local authorities and housing association a budget option for emergency accommodation to tackle homelessness.
With homelessness rising at record rates, the demand for emergency accommodation has reached critical levels, Stelling said. Latest government figures reveal that 127,890 households in England are living in temporary accommodation, including 165,510 children. Of these, 43,110 households were placed in costly, nightly-paid accommodation – B&Bs, hostels and hotels – an increase of 47% in the past year, incurring huge costs for housing providers for poor quality, unsuitable and unsustainable housing.
In response, Stelling is advertising prefabricated steel-framed residential modules available from stock at its factory in Winchester. It intends to maintain stock levels to ensure buyers always have short delivery times of just a few weeks.
The modules can be configured according to local needs and individual sites. The units can be fitted out as ensuite rooms, studios or apartments for single living or family accommodation.
Jose Ignacio Alvarez, founder and executive chair of Stelling Properties, said: "This is a housing emergency, and we are responding with urgency. Local authorities are being pushed to the brink, spending public funds on temporary nightly accommodation that is neither suitable nor sustainable, particularly for families. Our low-risk modular solution offers a way forward: better quality homes that can be deployed rapidly and cost-effectively, restoring dignity and relieving the strain on local authorities."
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