The civil engineering contractor is not normally associated with house-building but it is acting as developer to expand its head office and put up 21 prefabricated homes next door.
Chief executive Alan Robertson said the project marked VolkerWessels UK’s entry into the house-building sector.
Broxbourne Council’s planning committee this week approved the development at VolkerWessels UK head office in Boxwood Park, just off Hertford Road in Hoddesdon.
VolkerWessels said that the houses would be manufactured off site and could be installed on site within days. This impressed the local councillors.
Council leader Mark Mills-Bishop said: “This application for modern housing, using cutting edge construction techniques, is innovation in action and a golden opportunity which the council is proud to get behind.
“VolkerWessels UK is a valuable employer to the borough with a community-minded approach that includes working with local schools. Not only will this provide much-needed housing but it also puts Broxbourne on the map as a place that doesn’t just follow but leads the way in innovative planning.”
The company’s three-storey office extension (pictured below) will include training facilities, meeting rooms and more office space. VolkerWessels UK currently employs around 300 permanent staff and this would increase capacity to around 400. Space for parking will also be increased.
VolkerWessels UK chief executive Alan Robertson said: “Our development will bring a much needed boost to the local economy and cement our desire to be a new entrant into the house-building market, something we know the government is keen to encourage”
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