Ultra-low carbon MMC builder Greencore Homes has received £8m in public funding to support its construction of a 42-home scheme at Milton Heights, Oxfordshire.
The funding comes from Homes England via its Home Building Fund, which is designed to help small and medium-sized housebuilders and promote the adoption of modern methods of construction.
Designed by HTA Design, the project will provide 27 homes for sale and 15 affordable units on a site near Didcot Parkway station. The scheme will also feature green spaces along with pedestrian and cycle paths.
The homes are being constructed to Passivhaus standards using Greencore’s offsite-produced Biond panels, which the company claims “lock up more carbon than they emit.”
Greencore is aiming to deliver 10,000 “better than net zero” homes by 2035 and is using the funding to grow its production capacity.
The company seeks to prove that low-carbon housing can be built at scale by using offsite manufacturing and natural materials such as timber, hemp, and lime-based insulation.
The funding announcement follows a site visit by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who used the event to highlight new government initiatives aimed at supporting SME housebuilders.
These initiatives include simplifying planning processes for minor developments, creating a new planning category for medium-sized projects, improving access to land and finance through Homes England, and launching a Small Sites Aggregator pilot to repurpose underused brownfield land for social housing.
In 2022, M&G plc took a majority stake in Greencore through its £143bn Prudential With Profits Fund.
The investment, made through M&G’s Catalyst team, was intended to support Greencore’s growth and included plans for up to £500m in additional investment in “sustainable housing.”
