The bathroom’s like the Hilton, says resident of Cardiff’s first modular family houses
RESIDENTS have moved into Cardiff’s first pre-fabricated family council houses.
The homes were installed by crane on Crofts Street, Roath, after being built mostly off site. It is the first time this method has been used to build permanent family homes in Cardiff.
The keys to the nine two-bedroom houses were handed over to people on Cardiff’s social housing waiting list last week, although the council had originally intended to have residents move in before Christmas.
Krzysztof Kaniewski, one of the new tenants, said: “They are big and spacious and just round the corner from my daughter’s school, a short walk. They have a nice garden and the bathroom is like in the Hilton hotel. We are over the moon!”
A Victorian terrace once existed where the homes are now but it was bombed in the Second World War. A food testing laboratory was later built on the site but was demolished in 2016.
The new houses have lower CO2 emissions than standard homes, with solar panels on the roofs, better insulation, and all electric heating, meaning they do not need to be connected to the gas mains.
Councillor Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said it took about 10 months to construct the houses using the modular method while regular houses take twice as long.
Coun Thorne said: “I was here when the first units were craned into position before Christmas and it has been amazing to see this small plot of derelict land transformed into a row of nine modern houses that will help us tackle housing need in the city.”
There are about 8,000 applicants on the common waiting list for council housing in Cardiff and the latest estimate, in March 2021, said 485 of those were classed as homeless. On Friday, the Council announced £419m of funding for social housing in their 2022/23 budget proposals.
Another modular development, at the site of the old gas works in Grangetown, is expected to welcome its first residents in March. It is one of three developments being built to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people.
Coun Thorne said: “Homelessness among families is growing, hence the development of three sites of temporary accommodation for homeless families so that we can actually provide them with good quality accommodation and support while they are waiting for permanent accommodation.”
