Shropshire Star

23-storey skyscraper to be built in Telford

It's not unusual for 23-storey buildings to pop up in London at the moment – but they're not often built in Telford.

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But the landscape of the town isn't about to change – instead, a company in the town has landed a major deal to supply hundreds of modules which will ultimately become a new residential tower block in the capital.

The 23-storey development at Creekside Wharf in Greenwich will, when completed, be one of the tallest modular buildings in the UK.

Developer Essential Living has appointed Elements Europe, which moved its main operation to Queensway in Telford last year, to supply 632 modules to speed up construction.

The process of constructing modular buildings sees entire rooms constructed offsite, then brought together for the final project, slashing construction times.

Work on the development in Greenwich is expected to be halved to 32 weeks thanks to the work being done by the Telford company, which is part of the £200 million-turnover Pickstock Group.

Essential Living has already started on site. Elements' modules will be installed around the scheme's concrete core at a rate of about 20 per week from February.

Simon Underwood, managing director at Elements Europe, said "Elements Europe is delighted to have been appointed by Essential Living to deliver Creekside Wharf.

"We have developed an industry-leading solution for Essential Living and the build to rent sector bringing together many years of experience.

Artist's impression of the Creekside Wharf development. Picture: Essential Living/Assael Architects

"Modular solutions have been used for many years throughout the hotel and student accommodation sectors and our entry into the build to rent market is just a natural progression, bringing homes forward sooner, reduced capital construction costs, improved quality and safety of delivery."

Off-site construction allows developers to earn rental income sooner, cut energy bills and refurbish buildings easily. The prototype that Elements put together will be one of the last fitted to Creekside Wharf.

Artist's impression of the Creekside Wharf development. Picture: Essential Living/Assael Architects

Martin Bellinger, chief operating officer at Essential Living, added: "Having the potential to collect rent six months earlier than a traditional build is appealing. This is achievable because you can commence work on the modules off-site at the same time as constructing the traditional concrete core on-site which the steel-framed modules then plug into."

Elements Europe recently gained an industry accreditation which will allow it to build modular buildings up to 24 storeys tall, providing guarantees on modular buildings in the eyes of lenders. That in turn could help drive further investment into the market.

In the last 11 years Elements has delivered over 10,000 units to sectors including student accommodation and hotels.

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