Developer to create 40 jobs with new £3m Leeds factory scheme

Citu, the Leeds-based sustainable developer, is set to create around 40 new jobs with the opening of a new, purpose built factory that will assist in manufacturing low-carbon houses in the city.

Work has started on site to create ‘Citu Works’; the new manufacturing facility located on a 3.5-acre brownfield site in Leeds city centre.

The state-of-the-art plant will produce the ‘Citu House’; a product of a focused innovation grant from national government via Innovate UK in collaboration with Leeds Beckett University.

The new system is in the final stages of research and development and uses an energy efficient timber frame that is designed to perform to the highest environmental standards including passivhaus principles.

The 60,000 sq. ft. facility has the capacity to produce up to 750 low-carbon homes each year.

Citu is investing £3m into the new facility, in addition to a £400k grant from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Citu’s long-term aim is to accelerate the take-up of advanced building technology to help the industry move away from a process where it is estimated that around half of the resources going into building a typical house is waste; not just in terms of physical materials but also labour and inventory waste.

The new home system removes many of the thermal bridges and opportunities for air leakage often found in domestic homes; making them airtight and thermally efficient, and ultimately meaning that heating bills and carbon emissions are a fraction of those of a conventional property.

Chris Thompson, managing director and founder of Citu, said: “Factory-built homes represent the future of house building in the UK.

“I’ve seen the finished product, as well as the manufacturing process, first-hand in Europe and we are excited to be one of the first to introduce the technology to the UK.

“This technique means less waste and less carbon emissions produced in the building process so, not only does it offer buyers an opportunity to live a low-carbon lifestyle, it reduces our carbon footprint as a developer.”

Roger Marsh OBE, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), also commented: “This funding, from our business grants programme, has ensured Citu have been able to go ahead and establish their new innovative manufacturing base in the Leeds City Region.

“We are committed to creating more, better quality housing for the people who live and work in the region and this new energy efficient approach will take us a step closer to achieving our ambition of a zero carbon economy.”