IMAGINE a world without the bricks and mortar that have been in use since Georgian times. Instead, imagine houses built in factories - houses fitted with toilets, sinks, baths and every other convenience you might expect, before being carried on a lorry to their destinations, where they are lowered into place, fitting perfectly on to their foundations.

This may sound like a scenario from science fiction, but it is already a fact in the region.

Homes, restaurants, hotels and public sector buildings are being built on factory production lines, meaning less time on building sites and consequently less danger and less waste.

This, companies working in the area argue, is the answer to Britain's housing shortage. It could also minimise disruption, help reduce waiting lists in hospitals, and make school playgrounds safer places.

Schools, hospitals, social housing and even privately-built blocks of fashionable apartments are already being built using this method.

M&M Plasline (MMP), in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, is expanding its factory, and by the end of the year, will be manufacturing what has become known as flat-pack housing.

MMP chairman Michael O'Connell is also regional vice-chairman of Constructing Excellence, a Government-backed body set up to think "outside the box" about the construction industry.

"Years ago, you bought a car and you would expect it to be rusty within two years" he said.

"Then the car industry took a long, hard look at itself and introduced production lines, machinery and quality testing.

"We need to do that in the construction industry.

"But we will never get a truly quality product that is manufactured on a building site. The conditions are atrocious - the weather plays a very big part in construction in this country. Other quality issues come down to a lack of skilled tradesmen, and a shortage of time to construct buildings."

Constructing Excellence believes that off-site construction is the way forward, fabricating buildings in a controlled environment, and then transporting them to where they are needed.

This reduces the time workers spend on building sites, thereby improving safety and reducing the amount of labour needed.

MMP, which is extending its offices and workshop area and employing an extra 50 staff, is building the region's first flat-pack block of flats in Bishop Auckland.

To minimise any disruption caused by the weather, the steel framework is assembled before a waterproof "skin" is placed around the building and the roof put in place.

"It is a weather-protected environment and work can be started straight away," said Mr O'Connell.

"We are hoping to take it a stage further and have the flat-pack houses, with the walls and roofs built in the factory and just attached to the steel.

"It would involve the steel frame with fitted plasterboard lying on the inside and we would also fix the brickwork on to the outside.

"The panel of the wall of a house will be factory-built, with bricks and windows in it, and the doors fitted, and will then be dropped in by crane."

Mr O'Connell said there was no comparison between the buildings being made at MMP and the post-war prefabs of the 1950s. The flat-pack homes will last much longer, and being pre-insulated, are twice as warm as traditional brick houses.

With the Government demanding more stringent "warm values" from housebuilders, insulation is a major priority.

"In the future, there will be no cold coming through the walls and you won't need radiators, or central heating," said Mr O'Connell.

"You will be able to heat your house with just your body heat or a candle, or the warmth of the oven.

"With the Government driving the amount of warmth leakage down, you probably won't be able to achieve the kind of values they want with traditional bricks."

A chronic shortage of builders due to a lack of training during the past 15 to 20 years could be overcome by both flat-pack, and modular, housing.

"It also requires a lot more planning ahead," said Mr O'Connell.

"The industry has to change - it is no more or less expensive than traditional building, but it is faster and causes less disruption.

"Major house builders and housing associations seem very keen on our product, as is local government, which is always looking for best value.

"Schools, for example, are not a good place to build because of health and safety reasons, so if we can minimise the time we are on site, it is better."