Seventeen modular low-carbon homes are to be built in the South Downs National Park in West Sussex – nine of which will be for affordable rent or shared ownership.
The homes have already been manufactured offsite in Dorset by offsite building specialists Rollalong and they will be transported and installed on site in the autumn.
The site on land south of Heather Close in West Ashling near Chichester is allocated for housing development in the South Downs Local Plan. Planning permission for the development was granted by the Planning Committee for the National Park Authority, following a Planning Committee meeting in October 2020.
West Ashling will be a flagship land-led development and Rollalong’s first on behalf of its parent company, the Newship Group, which owns a number of packaging, construction, manufacturing and premium hire businesses.
“Modular offsite construction has many benefits compared to traditional builds: it’s faster and less disruptive, it guarantees quality and it reduces costs,” said Steve Chivers, Managing Director of Rollalong.
“Modular buildings are precision-engineered in tightly controlled factory conditions and adhere to a ‘right first time’ philosophy, which results in a high-quality, consistent product time after time.
“We’re excited to be working on Newship Group’s first land-led housing development and we’re looking forward to breaking ground on the site.”
Jamie Turpin, Construction and Development Director at Newship Group, said: “West Ashling is a great rural residential scheme and the perfect development opportunity we’ve been seeking to combine our current ideal blend of scale and location.
“There has long been a shortage of modest new homes in the favoured western sector of Chichester and the addition of 17 new homes will help support the local housing needs.
“We are currently working closely with South Downs National Park Authority to fine-tune the sustainable approach on construction, material selection, drainage strategy and hard/soft landscaping designs. We look forward to getting the scheme under way in the coming months.”
