Barriers to delivering low carbon housing through offsite construction and biobased building materials in the UK

Offsite construction and biobased building materials, particularly when employed together, provide opportunities to deliver low carbon, high quality, healthy homes at pace. However, both are often underutilised in housebuilding with their benefits underexploited. This study explored why this is the case within UK housebuilding. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group with senior stakeholders from the UK’s biobased building materials, offsite construction and housebuilding industries investigated the factors that impede the wider adoption of this construction method and materials. The key barriers identified by participants included unsupportive policy/regulation, inappropriate procurement models in housebuilding and a sporadic pipeline of housing demand. Participants were positive about the potential to incorporate biobased materials into offsite housing with few barriers and various successful experiences reported, such as with prefabricated hemp blocks, timber frames and panels. The article reflects on the implications of the findings for policy and practice.