Back to News
10 August 2005
Countryside Properties' consortium has been shortlisted in The Design for Manufacture competition which is being managed by English Partnerships, the Government's regeneration agency, on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
In total nine organisations have risen to the challenge laid down by the Deputy Prime Minister, demonstrating that high quality homes can be designed for a construction cost of around £60,000. These nine consortia are now invited to go on to the final stage of the Design for Manufacture competition, to bid to develop homes on one or more of the ten public sector-owned sites. A further seven entrants received a commendation for their entries.
The competition is one part of the Government's drive to deliver decent, affordable homes for everyone - whether to rent or buy - in sustainable communities where they are proud to live.
Announcing the nine finalists, Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott said:
"When I first questioned the high costs of construction in the UK and suggested quality, affordable homes could be designed for around £60,000, cynics were queuing up to say it could not be done. There has been an overwhelming response to what is a tough challenge, and I congratulate the nine winners who have shown it can be achieved.
"I am now inviting them to move on to the final, most challenging stage of the competition - to design homes for construction on one of 10 public sector sites. We are looking for well-designed, yet affordable homes in sustainable communities where first time buyers and young families will want to live. I wish the nine finalists good luck as they approach the final hurdle and look forward to seeing the winning designs become reality next year.
Trevor Beattie, English Partnerships' Director of Corporate Strategy, responsible for running the competition on behalf of the ODPM said:
"The bidders going on to stage three combine great design, strong cost efficiency and supply chains, a powerful assessment of environmental issues and a deep knowledge of what makes vibrant communities - all of the aspects vital to delivering places where people want to live.
"Now the stage 2 winners will have the opportunity to develop their designs further with the aim of winning the right to build the 1,000 homes spread across the different sites in stage three. The lessons learnt about good design, quality and construction efficiency start here and will be rolled out to benefit many more homes in the future."
The stage two winners are: The Countryside Consortium (comprising Countryside Properties in partnership with Hyde, Acton, Metropolitan and Presentation Housing Associations); Barratt Developments Ltd; Geoffrey Osborne Ltd; George Wimpey UK; Northern Edge; Redrow Plc; William Verry Ltd; SIXTYK Consortium;; and Westbury.
The commended bidders are: Accent Group; GENTECT Homes; Linden Homes; Persimmon; Taylor Woodrow Developments Ltd; The Forward Group; and The Super E® Partnership.
The competition is set to create around 1,000 homes across 10 public sector owned sites. They will be a mix of different types of homes including apartments and houses, sale and rental homes, with around a third being made available for first time buyers. The winners of stage three of the competition are expected to be announced by the end of the year, with the first homes beginning to be built in Spring 2006.
Back to News
Information correct as at 10/08/2005