RAZED TO THE GROUND
Moment bulldozers demolish brand new housing development after dozens of newbuilds found with faults
Some homes slated for demolition have already been bought
THIS is the moment bulldozers demolished a brand new housing development after dozens of newbuilds were found with faults days before locals moved in.
The homes in Darwin Green, Cambridgeshire, were said to be covered in deep cracks with residents fearing their properties could be pummelled to the ground next.
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Barratt David Wilson Homes admitted that some houses on the newbuild estate near Cambridge were built with dodgy foundations.
The developer said that 36 properties need to be knocked down and rebuilt.
Four homes have already been razed, with demolition work set to drag on for 12 weeks.
Builders will salvage and re-use bricks, tiles, doors, windows and other materials where possible.
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Christian Sutherland, 43, previously told The Sun that the prospect of newbuilds on the estate being flattened was "frightening".
His four-year-old son Cameron needs a tracheostomy tube to help him breathe.
The software engineer said: "The amount of dust that will be thrown up is scary.
"We are just getting settled in here and really like the community but this does not fill us with confidence.
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"We have been offered a longer warranty – an extra 15 years on top of the existing 10 but are concerned by the lack of checks.
"How did the houses they are now knocking down ever get as far as being built? This should be basic stuff to a house builder.
"It seems to me like on big developments councils are taking a back seat and allowing private companies to have all the responsibilities.
"They are driven by profit so it is not a safe situation."
BDW's Adrian Jarman said: "We discovered that there were issues with the foundations at a limited number of unfinished and unoccupied houses last summer.
"The demolition of those homes has now started.
"The works will last for 14 weeks and the important thing now is to ensure this process has as little impact on the existing community and environment as possible.
";Monitoring stations have been set up throughout the site to record noise and vibrations.
"We have erected screening and will be using water to control dust.
"We also want to carry out the work sustainably so will be recycling as much material as possible including tiles, doors, windows, and kitchen equipment.
"We will also be crushing and reusing the concrete and brick on site."
The newbuild estate has approval for up to 1,593 homes as well as a park, primary school, supermarket, library and sports facilities.
But last June developers said some homes did not meet their "usual high standards" during inspections.
It is thought that a number of the homes slated for demolition have already been bought - but no-one has moved in yet.
Daniel Welby, 33, an HR analyst, said: "I feel very sorry for those who were just about to move into these properties.
"Some people were just days away from moving in.
"It is a worrying situation because no matter how much they assure us, this is the reputation of the estate now so if we wanted to sell, would this put people off?"
Mark Wells, 61, a finance broker who paid £650,000 for his four-bed home, said: "It did worry us to start with but they got a third party to come and do a report on these houses and they said that all the phase one homes are OK.
"The affected houses had big cracks straight away. Some of the families who were due to move in had already exchanged contracts but not completed when they found out.
"It will cause a lot of suffering because chains will be affected. It will be down to cost-cutting, of that I am certain."
PHASE TWO
Phase two of the newbuild development is currently underway, with homes selling for as much as £851,000.
In June, Barratt David Wilson Homes Cambridgeshire said: "As a five-star house builder we have an extensive quality assurance process.
"During inspections we found that a small number of unoccupied properties at our Darwin Green development did not meet our usual high standards.
"Unfortunately, the most effective course of action at this stage is to demolish the properties and rebuild them.
"We have apologised to the customers affected and understand their frustrations.
"But we are doing all that we can to lessen the impact of this for them.
"The most important thing is that the homes we build for our customers are of the highest quality possible.
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"This means spotting and mistakes and putting them right, which is what we are doing here."
Local councillor Cheney Payne slammed the "absolutely shocking" news at the time - telling the Cambridge Independent she "couldn't quite believe it".
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