A SWAN Hill business is helping ease the rural housing shortage by building quick and cost-efficient worker accommodation to help a rural hospital attract more staff.
Swanbuild is constructing four homes at its Swan Hill factory which will provide accommodation for up to 12 employees and their families at Rural Northwest Health in Hopetoun.
Regional Development Minister Jaclyn Symes said the project would be completed in coming months, and was supported by the Victorian Government’s Regional Worker Accommodation Fund.
Once the houses are 95 per cent complete, they will be transported in large pieces to Hopetoun where they will be assembled on site by local builders and tradespeople.
Ms Symes said this innovative method reduces the cost and time it takes to build the homes at the remote location.
“The new houses will allow Rural Northwest Health to offer dedicated affordable accommodation to workers, addressing rental shortages in the small town of 800 people, helping attract more healthcare professionals to the region and increasing staffing numbers,” she said.
Swanbuild also received $130,000 from the Victorian Government to construct a modular building prototype designed to meet international energy efficiency standards for ‘Passive House’ accreditation.
This funding is expected to create 22 jobs.
Swanbuild New home consultant Dan Lavey said the homes were based off two duplex designs.
“They are actually four individual homes, but joined via a carport rather than a garage,” he told The Guardian.
“They are four homes, each with three bedrooms and one bathroom.
“There would be 30 workers through this job.
“There’s a couple that are close to finishing than others … we’ve got cabinetry and tiles, plaster on the walls and roof on, so I’d say we are getting close to 60, 70 per cent complete.”
Mr Lavey said the benefits of modular builds was the quick timeframe.
“It also means that our factory has the capacity to build multiple homes at once,” he said.
“For example, this job, we’re building four homes at once, and I think they’ve been in our factory for two months, maybe three months now.
“We’re not far off preparing them for delivery.
“The modular aspect does allow to fill that urgency of needing new homes.
“This is the first one that has come across our desk here at Swanbuild for the rural workers fund and there are others in the background as well.
“So there is a bit of movement in that area.”
Swanbuild director Josh Perryman said the business was proud to be supporting the project in Hopetoun.
“We believe modular housing is a game-changer when it comes to tackling Victoria’s housing shortage,” he said.
“It’s faster and highly scalable, making it a smart solution for regional areas.”
Rural Northwest Health chief executive Jenni Masters said the construction of these new houses will help address staffing issues.
“Providing modern houses that will let them bring their families and stay longer, allowing us to think about developing more sustainable services for the community,” she said.
