Barratt to open £45m timber frame factory

Britain’s biggest housebuilder Barratt is to open a £45m timber frame factory to build more homes off site and meet the 2025 Future Homes Standard. 

The firm believes the factory will help it reach its commitment of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, by which time it wants 30% of its homes to be built using modern methods of construction. 

The company bought the timber manufacturer Oregon in 2019 and will relocate it this summer from Burton-upon-Trent to the just completed 186,000 square foot facility, which it says is “cutting-edge”, at Infinity Park in Derby. 

Barratt, which has said it will build around 16,500 to 17,000 homes this year - 1,000 less than planned, constructed 3,700 of its 18,000 homes last year using timber frames.  

It said using a timber frame system enabled it to cut build time on developments by an average of five weeks compared to the traditional masonry method. 

David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Development, said: “Increasing our use of modern methods of construction, including timber frames, is a key part of Barratt’s road to net zero carbon.    

He said he wanted Barratt to be the “leading national sustainable housebuilder” and said the firm was working with its suppliers to challenge its construction processes in order to reduce carbon in the manufacture, transportation and build process. 

The new Oregon factory has been built by main contractor Bowmer & Kirkland, and has achieved a BREEAM “very good” and an EPC “A” rating. 

It has already been used to build Barratt’s concept Zed House, which is testing innovative products that are forecast to reduce carbon by 125%, at the University of Salford. 

Peter Wade, joint managing director at Oregon, said: “Infinity Park in Derby will become our new base to support Barratt’s commitment as a leader in sustainable housebuilding at scale. This new state-of-the-art facility will support our long-term goals to increase the use of modern methods of construction off-site to reduce Barratt’s carbon footprint.”   

The Future Homes Standard will require all homes in England to be constructed producing 75% to 80% less carbon emissions than homes built under the current Building Regulations.