Scottish suppliers across the construction industry, including the Proctor Group, have provided support to a homelessness charity creating new supported village communities. Social Bite, a social business as well as a charity, empowers people to transform their own lives and leave homelessness behind for good. Since 2012, its varied work has seen it move into developing the Social Bite Village – a housing model which, by the end of 2026, will be replicated across three different sites.
Social Bite engaged modular construction specialists Ecosystems Technologies to manufacture the living spaces for the sites. Proctor Group provided membrane products and accessories, free of charge, to help deliver high-quality homes that enable residents to build confidence and find their feet.
Social Bite opened the Social Bite Village in Edinburgh in 2018. The site is a highly supported community for 20 people and, in that time, it has served as a transformative, transitory space for 100 people experiencing homelessness. With the lease on the current site coming to an end, Social Bite has worked with the local council to find a new site in the city. This will involve the relocation of the 11 current two-bedroom living units, plus the addition of five new one-bedroom Nest homes and a community building (comprised of six modules).
The housing units that Ecosystems Technologies have created for Social Bite exemplify a pioneering approach to modular construction, not just in Scotland but the whole of the UK. Working with their partners, the company uses a vacuum press to form cross laminated timber (CLT) panels for all its modular products. The modules offer consistent quality, protection from the weather, minimal finishing, faster project timescales on site, and a high standard of fabric performance.
Proctor Group has supplied three different membranes:
• Wraptite UV, which combines properties of vapour permeability and airtightness in one self-adhering product, and is specifically designed for use behind open-jointed cladding. Applied externally, Wraptite UV acts as the main airtightness layer for the units.
• Procheck Adapt is a variable-permeability vapour control layer which is capable of adapting to changes in humidity levels, becoming more resistant in winter and more permeable in summer. Applied to the units internally, it protects the fabric from potential condensation risks and is also an airtight barrier.
• Proctor Air is an air and vapour permeable, highly water-resistant roofing underlay. Normally used on pitched roofs, in this case itwas installed on the flat roofs to provide temporary protection and help to retain the wood fibre insulation. proctorgroup.com