Innovative and affordable

United Welsh has begun work on a new housing development with a difference. The first of its kind in Wales, this innovative development involves the construction of modular style homes under the controlled conditions of a factory. Most importantly of all, the houses are being built specifically to help first-time buyers.

With property prices still on the rise across Wales it’s becoming more difficult for first-time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder. Delivering affordable housing is crucial to ensure that more people have the opportunity to become homeowners.

To help tackle this issue a new development project called ‘Clos Penallta’ is being undertaken by United Welsh. The development near Caerphilly will include a range of properties from one-bed apartments to three-bed houses. Each property will be made up of a series of steel framed modules constructed within a factory.  Before leaving the factory the modules are pre-wired, plumbed and have all sanitary fittings installed, windows fitted and are decorated to the buyers specification.  

The modules are then transported to the building site on trucks and finished by connecting to the mains, roof tiling and construction of the outer skin ready for the first owner to move in. Once complete the homes are indistinguishable from those built using more traditional methods.  

MCCI Ltd will supply the modules from their factory in Ystrad Mynach. They are hoping that the ‘Stelmod^tm’ modular system will be amongst the first modern method of construction to achieve the Building Research Establishment (BRE) 2020 Certificate. 

On completion the homes will be sold to first-time buyers using a shared equity scheme. Under the ‘Homes within Reach’ housing scheme buyers will be able to share the cost of the property with United Welsh. The buyer will become the sole owner of the property with United Welsh holding a second charge. In most instances the buyer would need to find 55% - 70% of the value of the property through a mortgage and/or savings. 

A number of major building societies have confirmed they are happy to lend on the new properties, including Principality who have a mortgage advisor on hand to help potential first-time buyers enquiring about the ‘Clos Penallta’ site. Margaret Berridge, mortgage advisor at Principality, said: “We are proud to be working with United Welsh on this innovative scheme. As a Welsh business we can react quickly to local initiatives and we have worked with United Welsh to adapt our mortgages to suit these modular homes and the needs of the people buying them. Our door is open for any first-time buyers wishing to discuss their first step on the housing ladder.”

The properties are currently being sold at £65K for a one-bed apartment, £75K for a two-bed apartment, and £85K for a three-bed house. Richard Mann, Director of Development for United Welsh, said: “This is an exciting time for housing development in Wales. Clearly we constantly need to be on the lookout for new and innovative ways of providing affordable housing for the people of Wales. Building homes using modules makes sense in terms of time and costs. Even adverse weather conditions can be eliminated from the equation.

“We have already sold a number of homes and demand has been high. This is a real opportunity for those people who currently can’t afford to buy a property on the open market.” 

If you are interested in finding out more about the properties for sale at ‘Clos Penallta’ please call a member of the ‘Homes within Reach’ team on 0800 294 0195.