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72% Of These Are Single Person Households. This Leaves An Ideal Market For ...

72% of these are single person households. This leaves an ideal market for the compact, single storey unit homes which have been being built over the last few years.
The numbers of people in temporary accommodation is aimed to be halved by 2010 http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1503524
The Barker Review is important because it based projections on trends which have been developing over the last ten years - such as an increasing elderly population. Research has suggested that by 2010 society can expect greater variations in the make-up of households, such as a rise in extended families and rented accommodation. Another important projection, which Kate Barker recognised, was that land use around London and the south east will be intensified, especially by the completion of new home developments. There will also be large scale urban regeneration schemes involving the demolition and reconstruction of dwellings in accordance with targets for sustainability and efficiency. (http://www.foresight.gov.uk) This is where off-site building methods have their particular niche as they can provide a dynamic and efficient use of space.

The Government's position on modular building
The Latham Report
Over ten years ago a report contrived by Sir Michael Latham set about addressing some crucial failures and limitations of the construction industry. At a time when communications and technologies were developing in many other areas of industry, Latham highlighted that the construction industry was ‘ineffective', ‘adversarial', ‘fragmented', ‘incapable of delivering for its customers' and ‘lacking respect for its employees'. (Latham 1994). Latham's report precipitated reform especially in areas of practice - concerning cost reduction and resource assessment.
The Egan Report, Rethinking Construction,1998
The Egan report identified some major problems within the construction industry, including:
- evidence that the industry was not achieving its potential
- a below standard number of deficiencies
- the industry was lacking stability
- it was economically unsound
- it had a poor level of customer satisfaction
Part of John Egan's recommendations for reform in the industry included a focus on partnering and the production of components. He also recommended the interaction of teams on a larger scale with the aim to improve the delivery of projects. (Egan 1998).
The report precipitated hundreds of Egan demonstration projects which sought to illustrate how off-site methods could be put into effective and reliable practice. The result was that they achieved accident rates 61per cent lower than the industry average, with productivity around 60 per cent higher than the industry average, and costs 6 per cent lower than the industry average. (Prescott 2005).
The Government has shown increasing interest in modular building.


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