Accommodation helping those transitioning out of homelessness in Ipswich has won a prestigious award. 

Homelessness charity Hopestead, which is part of Flagship Group, won the best use of emerging technology in housbuilding award for its work at the Emmaus Suffolk site in Felixstowe Road.

The £220,000 Hopestead Place project opened in October 2023 and was designed to allow those living there energy bill-free through solar photovoltaic panels.

The two modular homes were recognised at the Housing Digital Awards in Birmingham on February 8. 

Emmaus Suffolk CEO Claire Staddon said: "To be recognised by our peers in the housing sector for the fact that everyone not only deserves the dignity of their own front door but that their home should be aspirational is an honour."

Ipswich Star: Sir Terry Waite officially opened Hopestead Place last year.Sir Terry Waite officially opened Hopestead Place last year. (Image: Supplied)

The homes were opened by the former hostage and humanitarian, Sir Terry Waite, who is a patron of Emmaus Suffolk.

Hopestead CEO Marie-Claire Delbrouque said:  “We know the conventional approaches to tackling homelessness aren’t working, and this is why we’re carrying out life-changing projects like this that use innovative technology to deliver something with huge social impact.

"Everyone deserves a place to call home and I hope we can see more and more forward-thinking solutions like this in the future.”

Ipswich Star: Hopestead Place opened in Felixstowe Road.Hopestead Place opened in Felixstowe Road. (Image: Supplied)

The modular buildings were created by Cambridge-based charity New Meaning Foundation (NMF).

The company's Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to ensure efficiency and affordability and providing of training and education for disadvantaged young people to construct the homes was among the main successes for the judging panel.

NMF CEO John Evans said: “I am incredibly proud that our New Meaning design has been recognised as an innovation in the ex-homelessness sector; and super proud of all the trainees and employees who have moved into work with us from backgrounds of homelessness, poverty and trauma."