<b><b>Mehban Chowdery of the Housing Forum looks at the industry's new enthusiasm for off-site fabrication and looks at some of the projects underway throughout the UK </b></b><br><b><b></b>There is a real sense across the housebuilding industry that the time may have arrived for new factory built homes. Both private and public sectors are looking more closely at the pros and cons of taking site processes to the more controlled and cleaner factory environment.</b><br><b>Undoubtedly some impetus has been created by the private factory ventures undertaken by Beazer, Wilcon and the recent opening of the Westbury Space 4 factory in the West Midlands (see box). </b><br><b><br> <b> Market movers: Westbury's Space 4 </b></b><br><b> The recent opening of Westbury's state-of-the-art 220,000 sq ft manufacturing facility at Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands reflects the clarity of approach needed for the future of factory built homes. With an investment of more than £10 million, production is to be progressively ramped up to meet Westbury's output of up to 4500 homes per annum, as well as delivering a commercial supply operation. Future development of the factory may also include in-house manufacture of insulated roof panels and the provision of integrated services such as power, plumbing, telecoms …