Concrete crisis spells boom for prefab classroom makers
The Guardian|September 06, 2023
The phones have been ringing incessantly at Algeco's Peterborough call centre in recent days.
Julia Kollewe
Concrete crisis spells boom for prefab classroom makers

Since the Department for Education sparked chaos last Thursday by warning of the risks around aerated concrete in 156 schools, school nurseries and further education colleges, the modular buildings hire company has been inundated with inquiries from schools desperate to secure temporary classrooms.

The crisis has shone a light on a little-known corner of the construction world.

Modular buildings, which can range from converted shipping containers to bespoke portable cabins, are popular on big infrastructure projects, where they can be bolted together and dismantled rapidly.

"We have definitely seen an increase in enquiries over the last few days," said a spokesperson for Algeco.

Algeco said it had received "numerous enquiries" from academies, schools and main contractors, particularly in south-east England.

"We expect to receive more enquiries over the coming days and weeks via the CCS [Crown Commercial Service] modular buildings framework," it said.

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