Dozens of new homes with a difference being built on estate in Milton Keynes

Building work is well underway at a pioneering housing development that uses only Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) on a city estate.

Bellway was selected by Homes England to deliver phase four of Tattenhoe Park, a major extension to the south-west of the city, as part of a project designed to try to speed up the delivery process for new homes.

The development will include 160 properties, 40 of which are modular homes built miles away in a factory then assembled on site.

The remaining 120 homes are being built on site, but the developer is using timber frame panels in place of traditional block and brickwork.

This system makes the build process “quicker and more sustainable”, they say.

Ultimately, there will be 112 homes for private sale and 48 affordable homes, which will be made available to local people through shared ownership or low-cost rent.

Already there has been a high level of interest in the modular homes from buyers – even though the price is on a par with traditionally-built new houses and flats.

The Ulu one bed apartments start at £215,000, while the Nash two bed house is priced from £340,000. Most expensive is the Daulby three bed house, which has a starting price of £400,000.

Luke Southgate, Sales Director of Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “The interest in these properties has been phenomenal. We have experienced a huge number of enquiries and are pleased that the house-buying public have responded so positively to this innovative project, which is very important not only for Bellway and Milton Keynes but for the house-building industry in general.

“As things go, we are hoping to welcome the first residents onto Tattenhoe Park in early 2023. Looking further ahead, we aim to deliver all of the new homes on the site within two years.”

Iain Hunter, Construction Director at Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “We commenced construction work at Tattenhoe Park in May, and progress has been so good that a handful of the timber-frame houses are now water tight, and there are others that are nearly ready to have the roofs installed.”

Tattenhoe Park will eventually become a neighbourhood of more than 1,300 homes.