Work will start shortly on dismantling the timber-framed crescent of Caspar modular units in the middle of Leeds, which became potentially unstable in high winds.
The debacle is a serious blow to the government's support for cheap prefab building, promoted by campaigns such as a challenge to build a £60,000 house. Caspar used a combination of flatpack and modular parts for speedy building which allowed the budget for low rents.
The £3m project's superstructure was completed in 2000 in only three weeks, but fatal mismatches in adding the individual flat kits later emerged. All 46 residents were evacuated a year ago.
The building had won a clutch of awards and was hailed as a prototype of affordable sustainable development. Financed by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, it was given the acronym Caspar, for Citycentre Apartments for Singles at Affordable Rents.
After the evacuation, Lord Best, of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, said: "Caspar's form of construction was very much at the cutting edge of new techniques and the results have been very disappointing indeed."
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