Eco Group has responded to the UK’s need to build more homes more quickly by investing in a solution which will create jobs and solve the housing shortage.
VASO by Eco is a world-leading green housebuilding innovation which creates building solutions from composite structural panels manufactured from recycled glass, providing affordable, low energy cost, low carbon dwellings which are quick to construct.
Eco’s industrialised construction solution will help alleviate the housing crisis across the UK – supporting the UK Government’s recently announced bid to ‘turbocharge’ housebuilding – by adopting industrialised construction methods.
Eco’s investment comes at a time when UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the biggest cash injection into social and affordable homes in 50 years under a new Affordable Homes Programme, due to receive £39bn of investment in the next decade.
The Government also announced more than 500,000 homes will be built through a new National Housing Bank which will unlock £53bn of private investment to turbocharge housebuilding.
Commentators have repeatedly said a different approach to housebuilding is needed to meet the UK’s shortfall of homes. Recent reports have highlighted the need for different thinking and solutions such as modular construction, circular manufacturing, and innovative offsite housing models.
Prosper’s “Housing Supply For A Growing Economy” report published recently, highlights the need to accelerate the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and invest in offsite manufacturing and innovation. It includes VASO by Eco as one of its case studies.
Eco founder and Managing Director Eddie Black said: “There is now a golden opportunity to embrace industrialised construction which takes the stress away from traditional supply chains and creates a housing solution through circular and advanced manufacturing.
“VASO by Eco’s structural composite panels made from recycled glass helps the built environment deliver structures rapidly, responsibly and sustainably by precision manufacturing and innovative technology unlike anything else.
“VASO By Eco’s speed and efficiency can provide a systematic solution to the housing shortage. It will allow the UK to be at the forefront of a building solution which will help solve the housing crisis here and in other territories around the world.”
It only takes a matter of hours to manufacture a VASO by Eco house offsite. It only takes a few days to build it onsite using minimal skilled labour and mechanical equipment, all while achieving high standards of quality, performance, sustainability and durability.
The innovation also tackles a construction skills shortage as it needs much less labour to build a VASO by Eco home, enabling governments to hit their housing targets.
Garry Legg, Head of Strategy, Planning and Partnerships, at South of Scotland Enterprise, said: “There is a unanimous consensus that we must do things differently to address the housing challenge, with partners in the South of Scotland already coming together to take the action they know is required. The South of Scotland is up for, and ideally placed to be, Scotland’s testbed for doing housing differently.”
As well as developing opportunities in the UK, Eco is also working on projects across Europe and taking part in an Invest in Barbados visit in November to discuss housing opportunities in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Eddie said: “We have spent the first 15 years of the company’s existence growing and adapting and diversifying so we can continue to be pioneers in our field.
“Building our own 3,000 square-metre HQ in Annan in 2020-21 was an incredible milestone for the company and a testament to the skills and capability of our team.
“Now with VASO by Eco we have a solution which is going to prove a complete game-changer for the Scottish, UK, and worldwide construction industry.”
