Construction starts on Corby site which will be Europe's largest modular housing facility

Construction has started on a Corby site which will be Europe’s largest modular housing facility.

Tom Pursglove, the Conservative MP for Corby and East Northants, recently visited the construction site where TopHat, one of the UK’s leading 3D modular house builder, will open Europe’s largest modular housing facility in 2024.

The 650,000 sq ft factory (equivalent to the size of 11 football pitches), will be capable of manufacturing a home every hour and will create 1,000 highly skilled new, green jobs across a wide range of roles.

The new facility will bring together the latest robotics and TopHat’s proprietary technology to manufacture and distribute up to 4,000 homes per year.

Construction will be commencing shortly at the new site and expected to be complete later this year.

The factory will then be fitted out with its bespoke state-of the art robotic production line and will deliver its first units during 2024.

Key to the success of the new facility is the partnership TopHat has established with local colleges – branded the TopHat Academy – to support local people looking to train or retrain for roles in the new facility.

A key part of the investment in skills will be supporting apprentices who will be approximately five per cent of the employees on day one rising to 20 per cent over three years.

TopHat is already at the forefront of a house-building revolution, applying robotics and lean manufacturing techniques to increase housing supply, improve quality, reduce costs and protect the environment.

TopHat has pioneered an ultra-low carbon approach to building and operating homes, which significantly reduces household cost at a time when the cost-of-living crisis threatens to plunge millions of families into fuel poverty.

Commenting on his visit to the site, Mr Pursglove, MP and Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work, said: “It is fantastic to see a major step forward in a scheme which will create a thousand new jobs here in Corby and play an important part in bringing making beautiful, low carbon 3D modular homes much more widely available.

"I am particularly pleased by the partnership with Bedford College and commitment to skills and training through the TopHat Academy.

"I look forward to seeing the factory again when all the robots have been installed.”

Jordan Rosenhaus, CEO and founder of TopHat, said: “The cost of living and housing crises, and climate emergency, require a bold approach that harnesses innovation to manufacture high-quality low carbon homes.

"TopHat’s new facility will ensure that Corby is at the heart of this revolution in house building, all the while creating 1,000 highly skilled, green jobs.”

The Corby facility will be the anchor tenant in the new multimillion-pound Magna Park site being developed by GLP, the global logistics developer.

James Atkinson, development director at GLP, said: “Magna Park Corby is GLP’s third Magna Park site in the UK and will become one of the most exciting state-of-the-art dedicated logistics, distribution and manufacturing parks in the UK when it is completed.

"With anchor tenants like TopHat, the site will make a huge contribution to the local community providing jobs, professional training and public realm for the benefit of all.”