Overview
Warbler Park is a development of 16 low-carbon homes manufactured offsite by Rollalong for Abri on a site on Beech Lane in the Surrey village of Normandy. The scheme showcases the benefits of modern methods of construction (MMC). Rollalong’s Dorset-based facility manufactures the homes in 56 modules using its advanced light-gauge steel volumetric system, then transports and installs them on site.
The finished homes are clad in brick slip with traditional trussed tiled roofs, helping them fit comfortably within the established street scene. They provide a mix of rented and shared ownership tenures to support local housing need. Newship Developments, part of Rollalong’s parent group Newship Group, brought the site forward as land-led contractor. Hampshire Homes was appointed principal contractor, delivering the groundworks and external works package alongside Rollalong’s offsite manufacture and installation of the homes.
The site required a scheme sensitive to its semi-rural village setting near Normandy Common while meeting Abri’s requirements for quality, sustainability, and pace of delivery. Rollalong’s offsite approach allowed the homes to be manufactured to a consistent, high-quality standard in factory conditions before a fast, low-disruption installation on site.
The Challenge
Building within a small village site brought a distinct set of demands:
- A constrained site footprint within an established residential area requiring a construction approach that minimised disruption to neighbouring properties and the wider village community
- A need to deliver high-quality, low-carbon homes that met Abri’s sustainability commitments and exceeded Part L requirements
- A tight construction programme to bring homes to site quickly and reduce the time the local area was affected by build activity
- A design sensitive to the character of the village setting, close to Normandy Common
- Coordinating offsite manufacture and installation with principal contractor Hampshire Homes’ groundworks and external works package to keep the overall programme on track
The Solution
Rollalong’s light-gauge steel volumetric system was used to manufacture all 16 homes from 56 individual modules offsite at its Dorset facility, enabling key benefits for the Warbler Park site:
- Building the homes in a controlled factory environment removed most construction activity from the site, reducing on-site trades, deliveries, and noise compared to a traditional build.
- Offsite construction significantly reduced the on-site build programme. It ran alongside principal contractor Hampshire Homes’ groundworks and external works package to keep delivery on track.
- Precision built in factory conditions ensured a ‘right first time’ approach. This gave a consistent, high-quality finish including brick slip cladding and traditional trussed tiled roofs across all 16 homes and reduced defects typically associated with traditional on-site construction.
- With most of the build completed offsite, the installation phase on Beech Lane was kept short, limiting the impact of construction traffic and activity on the village community.
- The homes were built to achieve an Energy Rating of B, helping Abri exceed Part L requirements and deliver genuinely low-carbon housing for both rented and shared ownership tenants.
Outcome
Rollalong’s offsite manufacture delivered 16 low-carbon homes built from 56 modules to the Warbler Park site with a shorter, less disruptive build programme than traditional construction. Working alongside principal contractor Hampshire Homes and land-led contractor Newship Developments, part of Rollalong’s parent group Newship Group, Rollalong helped bring a mix of rented and shared ownership homes to Normandy. The project achieved an Energy Rating of B and supported Abri’s delivery of new low-carbon homes in the South.