Devon eco-house built by offenders

Project to cut reoffending rates

A ground-breaking project which hopes to break the cycle of reoffending is starting to bear fruit in Devon.

An eye-catching, ultra-modern eco-home is starting to take shape on a site owned by Torbay Council alongside the St Edmunds NHS building in Torquay. The low-carbon, one-bedroom modular house, which is insulated using a straw, will soon be allocated to a local person in need of suitable housing and support to gain greater independence.

The sleek and stylish home was designed by Agile Homes but was actually manufactured and assembled by serving prisoners and a local man on probation. Since November, prisoners at HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire have been learning valuable skills to build the timber and straw panels for the modular home.

The completed panels were transported to Torquay in January and were assembled within a day to form the shell of the house.  This assembly was done with the help of ex-offender Nuno Mendes who is currently on probation and has recently been homeless.

Nuno is helping to build the property with the help of experienced local contractors MW Benney, learning valuable skills and being paid the minimum wage for his efforts.

The project, which is the brainchild of the South West Regional Reoffending Partnership (SWRRP), has been funded by £100,000 from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.  The SWRRP is made up of public sector leaders from around the region and on it sit five Police and Crime Commissioners.

It’s hoped this project in Torquay could see the ambitious scheme rolled out on a far greater scale to reduce reoffending, support prison leavers into jobs and homes, help alleviate the national lack of affordable housing and to deliver new, low carbon, modular homes at pace.

Pat Steward, Head of Opportunity at Agile Homes, said: “As a values-led business, we want to do more to help reduce reoffending, reduce the cost of reoffending and have a positive impact on people’s lives.