Local agencies are to produce low carbon, cheap to run housing for local people.
The Accord Group - Accord, Ashram, Caldmore and Moseley & District Housing Associations, Fry Housing Trust and Redditch Co-operative Homes – is one of the largest housing associations in the West Midlands, providing 11,000 homes and a range of services including care and support to around 40,000 people across the region.
In February, Timber in Construction reported that Accord Group, a social housing landlord, bought a derelict Walsall factory on a five acre site on which it planned to set up a timber frame assembly plant to manufacture low-carbon timber houses. These had previously been imported from Norway for use in three of their developments.
Accord’s timber houses in Redditch
Mike Dell, president of Black Country Chamber of Commerce, pointed out in the Birmingham Post, that “Energy bills for these homes, which are nationally acclaimed, cost on average 50 per cent less than traditionally-built properties of the same size. This sort of saving is a tremendous help to people who are struggling with the current cost of living in the tough economic climate.”
As Accord Group chief executive Dr Chris Handy said in a Construction Index article:
“Importantly the factory will contribute significantly to supporting the local economy, creating jobs for local people and reversing the decline in manufacturing in the region.”
