Developed by Cross Keys Homes, the £70m Northminster project will provide 315 flats for rent.
Designed by Corstorphine & Wright, the block is being built with a light gauge steel frame, brick slip cladding and bathroom pods. Completion is expected in autumn 2024.
Northminster is Offsite Solutions’ eighth contract with Willmott Dixon. It has delivered more than 1,700 glass reinforced plastic and steel-framed pods for Willmott Dixon to date for multi-occupancy residential projects, such as student halls, hotels and care homes.
This latest pod project follows the completion of two contracts totalling £3.5m for a development at the Perry Barr residential scheme in Birmingham. The same pod design is now being used for Northminster.
The bathrooms and shower rooms for Northminster will be tiled and finished at Offsite Solutions’ factory in Highbridge, Somerset and delivered to site in Peterborough from the start of 2023 until the summer.
Willmott Dixon principal surveyor Matthew Harding said, “As a business, Willmott Dixon is committed to modern methods of construction and the benefits these bring in reducing carbon and increasing efficiency and certainty.
“Bathroom pods generate less embodied carbon by optimising material use and reducing waste, vehicle movements, and labour on site. Fewer vehicle movements compared to in-situ bathroom installation also minimise disruption to the local community.
“What would be complex sequencing for bathroom construction is reduced to a single supplier, reducing risk, and increasing efficiency. The process is simplified, safer, and far more robust by moving this part of the build offsite and into a factory.
“This is the third time we have used this particular pod type, specification and project team which has efficiency benefits and allows us to continually refine our processes. The pods are also contributing to an overall programme saving of around 30%, which reduces cost and allows a faster return on investment for Cross Keys Homes.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
