Housing leaders look north of the border for new ways to speed up housebuilding

Timber frame homes can be erected in as little as five days, industry leaders were told.

The Learning Journey was organised by the Structural Timber Association across sites from the Highlands to North-East Scotland. It was delivered in partnership with the Future Homes Hub, Swedish Wood, PEFC, West Fraser, and James Jones & Sons.

The trip took industry leaders on a learning journey that encompassed every step of the construction of a timber frame house – from sustainable forestry to a completed family home.

In Scotland, some 92% of new homes use timber frame, compared to just 13% in England.

The first leg of the visit saw industry leaders visit the West Fraser mill in Morayhill, Inverness. The facility manufactures oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing for houses, and is one of the largest in Europe and the only one in the UK.

The delegation then visited Cublin Forest – a sustainably managed forest under the stewardship of Forestry & Land Scotland. Here, delegates learned about the seed-to-harvest journey of timber and the role of sustainable forest stewardship and timber certification, and the role forests play in leisure, wellbeing and biodiversity net gain.

The delegation then travelled to the James Jones facility in Forres on the Moray Coast. The factory manufactures I-joists – an engineered wood structural member used in floor, wall and roof systems. The visit then moved to James Jones’s sawmill in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire where home grown logs are processed into C16 grade timber production, for use in timber frame.

The second day of the visit saw housebuilders and lenders visit Kirkwood Timber Frame in Sauchen, Aberdeenshire.

The Kirkwood site specialises in the design, manufacture, and assembly of timber frame systems for housing – encompassing both open and closed panel systems, with optional pre-fitted windows.

Housebuilding sites operated by Cala Homes and Bancon Homes in Milltimber, Aberdeen were on the final leg of the learning journey, built to higher energy and sustainability standards.

Delegates witnessed how the timber frame manufactured across North-East Scotland is quickly assembled into high-quality bespoke, private and affordable homes of a varying size.

Andrew Orriss, CEO, Structural Timber Association, said: “It was our pleasure to show Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders and housebuilders the well-established structural timber supply chain we have in Scotland.

“Scotland builds faster, greener, and more efficiently than England. And the reason is timber frame. These high-quality homes meet higher energy and carbon standards, reduce on-site risks and boost build speed.

“As an industry we look forward to working with housebuilders and lenders to deliver more homes at pace across the UK.”

John Kirkby, executive director of PEFC UK, commented: “Timber has a vital role to play in the transition to a low-carbon built environment, but it is important that increased demand is matched with responsible sourcing and certification.

“PEFC Certification provides that assurance, giving confidence that materials are coming from forests that are managed sustainably.”

Stephen King, UK project manager at Swedish Wood, commented: “This year’s learning journey demonstrated the capacity of the structural timber supply chain to deliver world class homes.

“Wood is renewable, natural, carbon-storing and versatile, and is the perfect material for promoting excellence in construction and innovation.”

Simon Woods, European sales, marketing and logistics director, West Fraser said: “Increasingly housebuilders are recognising the pivotal role timber panels play in the construction of timber frame homes and we were delighted to host the delegates at our flagship mill in Inverness, showcasing the production of our net carbon negative OSB panels.”

Chris Gaze of the Future Homes Hub added: “We were delighted to work in partnership with the STA on this brilliant opportunity to see and understand the structural timber supply chain, in Scotland, where the use of structural timber is the norm.

“Our mission at the Hub is to facilitate the collaboration needed to support sustainable housing growth across the UK – and this visit showed how structural timber can be a key part of this.

“The Future Homes Standard in England, is an important milestone on this journey, and we look forward to working right across industry to ensure housebuilders are ready for this fundamental shift.”

Andrew Francis, commercial director, at James Jones & Sons, commented: “We are fully set up to service the housebuilding market in light of new building regulations and environmental targets. And it was fantastic to demonstrate UK produced timber and engineered timber solutions, to the learning journey delegates.

“The structural timber supply chain is well placed to help housebuilders deliver, faster and more reliably, the next generation of high-quality sustainable homes across the UK.”

Malcolm Thomson, managing director at Kirkwood Timber Frame, concluded: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Structural Timber Association (STA), the Future Homes Hub (FHH) and a delegation of the UK’s leading homebuilders, to tour our state-of-the-art factory in Aberdeenshire.”