The government has announced that there will be a competition to demonstrate that it is possible to build a good-quality home for a construction cost of £60,000. The figure of £60,000 is a target construction cost, not a development cost or a sale price.

English Partnerships will run the competition for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and building sites will be provided by English Partnerships, who is currently asking for entrants.

The competition is needed because of major rises in construction costs, which are contributing to the lack of capacity and flexibility in the construction and development sectors. English Partnerships aims to demonstrate that efficiencies can be achieved to mitigate and reduce the impact of these costs.

The other main aim of the competition is to show that it is possible to build good-quality, cost-effective housing.

There are many benefits of good quality building and urban design. While design costs are a small percentage of overall construction costs, it is through the design process that the biggest positive impact can be made on the efficiency, quality and long-term sustainability of buildings.

The importance of sustainability is also one of the reasons why the government is reviewing building regulations and developing the Code for Sustainable Buildings.

More efficient construction methods can increase the speed and efficiency of housing supply, achieve higher quality and better standards of what is built, and offer resource efficiency by reducing waste, increasing productivity and improving health and safety to increase the supply of environmentally sustainable and well designed housing.

By using public sector land to provide the sites, the competition can focus on improving construction efficiency, quality and design. The competition will provide up to 1,000 homes

A minimum of 30 per cent of the housing units within the competition will be built to a target cost of £60,000 and the remainder will be larger and smaller units that should be built at an equivalent cost-efficiency.

There will be no requirement to build housing using particular construction supply, procurement, materials or delivery techniques. However, there will need to be evidence that the proposed approach can be replicated on other sites outside of the competition, providing efficiency gains.

The competition will provide a showcase of how to build cost-effectively across a range of housing types without sacrificing quality and sustainability standards. All short-listed entries will be asked to take part in a national exhibition, and the competition winners will be expected to engage fully in local and national discussion about their proposals and their wider significance to construction and design policies.