Modular housebuilders CoreHaus has officially opened its first manufacturing site in North East England.

The launch of the 20,000sq ft CoreHaus factory in County Durham also marks the start of production of the first steel-framed modular homes. The milestones coincide with the announcement of significant initial contracts for the social enterprise company based on Jade Business Park, Murton, near Seaham.

A five-year plan will see CoreHaus producing around 1,000 modular homes a year, which will result in more than 300 people working across the business. These homes will be built using modern methods of construction (MMC) which will result in high quality homes, built faster, with engineered precision and expected lower energy bills.

-- Advertisement --

Since moving into its first UK manufacturing facility in County Durham, CoreHaus has been recruiting while also securing new commercial contracts. The order book already stands at around £6m.

Both Gaynor Tennant, co-founder and chair of the Offsite Alliance, along with Mark Farmer, CEO of Cast consultancy and a key adviser to government for MMC, were key speakers at the opening and praised the innovation and importance of CoreHaus in the continuing development of MMC.

Mark Farmer said: "I am really excited to be here today. I get to open a lot of factories but this one feels very different to me.

"CoreHaus is an important step towards modernising construction. The product is very different to many modular homes; it’s a hybrid modular home with its pod and panel approach."

CoreHaus has agreed to provide modular homes to regional housebuilder Homes by Carlton and a national social enterprise charity. CoreHaus is starting to produce homes for the Thorpe Thewles site in County Durham being developed by Homes by Carlton.

CoreHaus is a joint-venture company between Carlton & Co Group, the parent company behind North East based Homes by Carlton, and national social enterprise Fusion21, specialists in public procurement for the built environment.