AECOM to help deliver innovative homes factory in Silvertown

AECOM is to work with The Silvertown Partnership (TSP), comprising Chelsfield Properties, First Base and Macquarie Capital, to deliver up to 3,000 homes at the 62-acre derelict site at the Royal Docks in east London.

In what is the firm’s first major contracting role in the UK, AECOM has been selected to deliver a design and build solution to fast-track the construction of the £200m Gross Development Value (GDV) residential element at the 62 acre site. Under plans being developed by TSP and AECOM, a modular construction facility will be delivered at Silvertown with the capacity to create 500 homes a year from 2018.

Although modular homes have been built and transported to other London sites, this is the first development with its own factory on site. Developers First Base say the factory, in Silvertown, will deliver homes up to nine months quicker and costing 20% less than was possible using established housebuilding techniques.

The announcement follows the London Borough of Newham granting planning permission for the Silvertown site in October. Under the Section 106 agreement for the scheme, 1,050 of the homes will be affordable. The new homes will be built alongside 50 commercial buildings which will include offices, shops and restaurants. 

Commenting on the scheme, Phil Wade, of The Silvertown Partnership, said: “We are excited to be partnering with AECOM to deliver 3,000 homes for Londoners via cutting edge construction methods. As the government stated in its recent Housing White Paper, innovation is essential to meet housing demand in the UK, and this is a bold step that will help us deliver these much-needed new homes in significantly less time. We look forward to working with Newham and the Greater London Authority to advance these plans.”

The government is keen to see innovative methods being used to deliver more housing. Swan Housing Association is set to open its new offsite 75,000 square foot factory in Basildon, with the first homes due this summer.