Stackable ‘Lego’ homes are being rushed out to deal with housing crisis
The small shipping container-style flats are fully furnished with all the mod cons including showers, ovens and fridges
STACKABLE 'Lego' homes are being rushed out in an attempt to deal with the UK's housing crisis.
The small shipping container-style flats are fully furnished with all the mod cons including dishwashers and showers.
Designed to "provide accommodation for those with an urgent housing need" Chelmsford City Council, in Essex, is hoping to build them after it demolishing old garages.
With the smallest measuring a minuscule 3.7m x 8.3m metres deep the flats will soon be full of people in need of a council flat.
The plan comes just three months after a national report by the ResPublica thinktank revealed 1.2 million people are languishing on housing waiting lists in England.
Rents are expected to be low for the temporary homes in the affluent town, where a one bed flat can go for as much as £1,100 per month.
Last year the council revealed the number of people expected to lose their homes is set to double in Chelmsford over the next three years as budgets are squeezed.
And in another bid to keep people off the streets councillors have announced they will invest in "eco-modular housing", the specific details of which are still being evaluated.
Leader of Chelmsford City Council Roy Whitehead said: "We've looked at the way other authorities in the UK are addressing homelessness and the method appears to be effective in some areas.
"Many of these designs look like little houses - they're very good."
Across two sites there will be a total of 18 of the green-painted temporary units.
A single and double bedroom version will be used, with all featuring a shower room, kitchen and a living space.
The Essex plan comes after the YMCA in nearby Waltham Forest, North East London, used actual shipping containers to help the homeless.
These homes in London are called 'mYPads' are rented out for £75 a week and feature flatscreen TVs, en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning.
Last week Communities Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday called for a homes revolution to build a stronger economy.
Unveiling plans to fix the housing crisis, he warned a generation could be priced out of the market by go-slow councils and builders.
And Theresa May is gearing up to push councils to build homes on the Green Belt as a “last resort” in order to meet housing targets, the Housing Minister has revealed.
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