Job bonanza: hundreds of new roles created at Flaxby as '˜house factory' opens to help tackle housing shortage

Modular housebuilder Ilke Homes has officially opened its first '˜house factory' at Flaxby, near Knaresborough.
James Brokenshire MP (left) is shown around by Ilke CEO Björn Conway.James Brokenshire MP (left) is shown around by Ilke CEO Björn Conway.
James Brokenshire MP (left) is shown around by Ilke CEO Björn Conway.

The London-based company aims to build 2,000 new homes a year at the factory within the next 24 months, and plans are already in place to scale up the operations to produce 5,000 homes per year in the next five years.

The 280,000 sq ft factory, which occupies the site vacated by Yellow Pages printer RR Donnelley, will build eight energy-efficient modular homes a day. These will be transported to developments across the country and once on site, can be installed at a rate of six homes per day – cutting conventional build times.

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The opening has created more than 250 jobs, and a further 500 are planned over the next five years as Ilke increases production.

Björn Conway, CEO of Ilke Homes, said: “We’re proud to officially open our first modular housebuilding factory in Knaresborough; using modern methods of construction and new technologies to deliver beautifully designed, sustainable family homes, made by our employees in Yorkshire and installed across the country.”

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire MP, who opened the factory, said: “Ilke Home’s new factory will play an important role in the delivery of high-quality affordable homes both here in Yorkshire and across the country.”

He added: “I want to see an increasing number of these house-production facilities to improve standards and increase output, to help meet our intent of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.”