Design for Manufacture / Oxley Woods

English Partnerships launched the Design for Manufacture competition in 2005, with the aim of building high-quality homes to a number of different quality standards – including ‘EcoHomes’ and ‘Building for Life’ – at a construction cost of £60,000, in a number of designated cities across the UK.

RRP, in conjunction with George Wimpey UK, was one of six successful development partnerships following a three-stage competition, and was awarded the Oxley Woods site, on the west edge of Milton Keynes.

The site is just over three hectares in size, and comes with predetermined site and neighbourhood plans; the site will accommodate 145 dwellings, when the scheme is complete. These will provide a mixture of affordable housing and larger private dwellings in two- and three-storey houses around a central high street, as well as public space. Emphasis is placed on the properties’ potential to respond to changes to the lifestyles and family sizes of occupants. This mix of tenure and adaptability will create an accessible and adaptable community that can reflect and accommodate change over time.