McCarthy Stone makes 50% MMC commitment

McCarthy Stone has confirmed that 40 new retirement developments will be built in full using modern methods of construction (MMC) starting over the next three years, with the business now aiming for 50% of its future retirement communities to be built in this way.

The MMC solution will be provided in partnership with Leeds-based Sigmat using its eco-friendly Light Gauge Steel Framing (LGSF) offsite structural solution. The partnership was signed with Sigmat in December 2020 and the first joint scheme completed in 2021 at McCarthy Stone’s Hewson Court in Hexham, Northumberland. Five new sites will start this year using MMC, rising to ten in 2023 and then 25 in 2024. From this point, the company aims for 50% of its sites to be built wholly using MMC, up from the company’s previous aim of 25%. The sites to start in 2022 include developments in Broadstairs, Stratford-on-Avon, Warminster and West Bridgford.

McCarthy Stone says the partnership is part of its “commitment to building high quality, energy-efficient, and affordable retirements communities.

“This drive supports the government’s agenda to deliver more supportive housing for older people and provide greener and more affordable home ownership options, all of which are significantly undersupplied in …