Swedish-style modular housing plans have been revealed for Birmingham dividing opinion among city development bosses - with one design compared to a 'battleship'.

The homes are built in a factory then transported to their permanent location by a lorry before been hoisted into place by a crane.

The pods, as they were also described to the city council's planning committee on last week (September 27), take about two weeks to build compared to around six months for a traditional home.

They can also be delivered on sites which are difficult and expensive to construct traditional homes on such as land with underground piping.

The council's housing programme Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust (BMHT) is considering a 'huge number' of sites across the city said Steve Dallaway, housing development manager.

A CGI showing how the modular home would look at Heaton Street, which was described as a 'battleship' by one councillor. 
A CGI showing how the modular home would look at Heaton Street, which was described as a 'battleship' by one councillor. 

While leader Ian Ward declared modular homes would be 'essential' in meeting a target to develop 51,000 more homes in Birmingham by 2031.

BMHT has done modelling work using existing sites and is hoping to create a prototype house by early next year.

The committee was shown how a modular home may fit into certain locations including a narrow plot in Heaton Street in Hockley which has been targeted by fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

The images also revealed how different materials can be used such as brick, zinc and timber to make sure they fit in with different types of surroundings.

But the mock-ups did not impress some members.

HMS Queen Elizabeth sails into her home port of Portsmouth Naval Base on August 16, 2017 in Portsmouth, England.
HMS Queen Elizabeth sails into her home port of Portsmouth Naval Base on August 16, 2017 in Portsmouth, England.

Cllr Gareth Moore (Cons, Erdington) said: "The principle of modular builds I don't have a problem with.

"But they looked horrendous. It strikes me more as some sort of battleship you are trying to park up, or Soviet era housing.

"I think if you worked on the design I wouldn't have an issue with it."

He added: "We just have to get it right and I don't think we should put up a load of stupid buildings.

"Last time this city went through massive housing growth we put up a lot of properties in the 60s and 70s.

"What are the properties we are demolishing now? All those we put up to meet the housing boom."

Cllr Moore also criticised the fact BMHT is promoting 'car free' environments without any spaces describing it as 'utterly stupid'.

Modular homes come in a variety of designs and facades including zinc, timber and brick. 
Modular homes come in a variety of designs and facades including zinc, timber and brick. 

Sweden is leading the way with modular homes which account for 84 per cent of their housing, followed by Netherlands (20 per cent), China (19 per cent), Japan (15 per cent) and Germany (9 per cent).

The UK proportion is just five per cent, similar to the US and Australia.

Cllr Keith Linnecor (Lab, Oscott) accused the council of 'rushing into it' for the sake of catching up with other countries.

He also echoed the argument about parking spaces and declared people would still want cars for 'generations to come'.

Former housing chief Cllr Peter Griffiths (Lab, King's Norton South) said modular homes were inevitable but argued that they provided high quality facilities and cut down on costs and construction time.

He stated the council had to 'embrace' the idea and called on factories to set up in the city.

Council leader Ian Ward (Lab, Shard End) has also endorsed them.

He said: “Birmingham has a long-established history of embracing innovation.

A diagram showing one possible layout of a modular home.
A diagram showing one possible layout of a modular home.

"In the face of the national housing crisis, this approach is needed now more so than ever before, and innovation will be essential to achieving our target of 51,100 new homes to be built by 2031.

“While construction methods such as off-site manufacturing and modular homes have proven successful across the globe, they have been heavily under-utilised in the UK.

"By embracing off-site manufacturing techniques, it provides us with an opportunity to increase our supply of social housing, unlock land that would not have previously been accessible and to ultimately achieve our housing ambitions for the residents of Birmingham."

While current homes and neighbourhoods boss Cllr Sharon Thompson (Lab, North Edgbaston), assured that BMHT designs would not be low quality.

She said: "I am thrilled to say that the Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust has developed its own modular house type that aspires to high standards of both design and delivery.

"This will ensure that the Birmingham modular home is not seen as a substitute for a traditionally built one and affordable housing will continue to be available for all of our citizens.”

Mr Dallaway added: "The UK is quite behind a lot of countries.

"The government has got it on their agenda, there is a lot of talk about going modular, simply for the reason that the construction industry has to adapt to survive and it is changing all of the time.

"Modular is really coming to the fore now and whilst there have been quite a lot of pilot schemes people have not embraced it in a big way and a lot of people make some big statements about modular and have invested a lot of money into factories but aren't delivering on that at the moment."