The housing body operates from two sites in Basildon, one producing light gauge steel modular housing and the other cross-laminated timber volumetric systems.
Production has stopped with immediate effect in order to focus on completing the modular homes on its Beechwood Village estate regeneration project for Basildon Council and Homes England.
Swan was one of the first housing associations to open its own CLT factory back in 2017.
Three years later it expanded opening a second factory for light gauge steel modular housing with the help of £4.5m from the Government’s Get Britain Building fund.
It was hoped that rising demand would see the factories produce up to 850 homes by 2024. But the business has struggled to make a profit.
In an email seen by the Enquirer that was sent to staff, the Swan board said it had taken the difficult decision to close its factory operations.
The email said: “It has not been a decision that we have made easily or lightly.
“However, it is simply not financially sustainable for Swan to continue to construct homes in this modular way, with Swan’s factory having been running at a loss.
“We must take steps to minimise our risk to ensure we can continue to deliver services to our customers and communities.”
Swan is now consulting with factory staff affected by this decision, and looking at whether they can be redeployed.
