Our Residential business’s modular housing demonstrator – now at London’s City Hall
Our Residential business’s modular housing demonstrator – now at London’s City Hall
The modular housing demonstrator, developed by Wates Residential in partnership with Rollalong, has arrived at its third location – outside City Hall in London.
The aim of the installation is to showcase how modular homes can help tackle the UK’s temporary accommodation crisis.
The module was officially re-opened by Tom Copley, London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, alongside Pip Prongué, Executive Managing Director of Wates Residential, on 14 August.
Why modular?
Across Britain, more than 130,000 households, including 169,000 children, are living in temporary accommodation. Many of those are housed in low-quality settings such as B&Bs, hostels and hotels.
Our Residential business believes there’s a better way. Our modular solution offers:
- Private bedrooms, family bathrooms, fully fitted kitchens and light and airy living spaces
- Energy efficiency – with features including PV panels and air source heat pumps
- Rapid deployment – built and installed in just 70 days
- Flexibility, where they are easily relocatable as local housing needs evolve.
Now open to the public at City Hall until 5 September – come and see for yourself.
What they’re saying
We all recognise we’ve got a housing crisis in London, and for people who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation, they are at the absolute sharpest end of this. One of the key solutions is building the homes that we need, and in particular, social rented homes. And we also need interim solutions as well, while we build the social rented homes that we desperately need. That’s why solutions like this are so vital.
“These units are well designed. They meet space standards. They’re energy efficient. And they’ve got a lifespan of 60 years. While they may only be temporary on one particular site, they can be moved around. In another sense, they are permanent, because they are providing a long-term solution, just moving to different sites.”
Tom Copley
Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, London City Hall
At Wates Residential, while we’re committed to permanent housebuilding, we also believe that families deserve better in the interim, which is why we launched our modular playbook and have reimagined what temporary accommodation can be.
“These homes are safe, warm and located where families need them most – close to schools, jobs and support networks. We also see real potential for modular to support estate regeneration by providing high-quality interim homes for decanting. We hope to work collaboratively with local authorities and industry partners to roll this out at scale.”
Pip Prongué
Executive Managing Director of Wates Residential
A way back home
Our Residential business’s modular housing approach is not a substitute for long-term housing, but it is a practical, high-quality interim solution.
Designed to be relocatable, these homes allow councils to respond flexibly to changing housing needs while reducing reliance on unsuitable temporary accommodation. Explore our full playbook here.
