EMPTY PROMISES
Our affordable new homes have been boarded up – council is strangling us and no one is allowed in… it’s tragic
Find out why the homes have been boarded up
RESIDENTS are fuming after their affordable new homes were boarded up - with no one allowed in.
Developer Bridge View said council delays and "abnormal" costs have stopped it delivering 33 homes in the Cornish village of Calstock.
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There are 160 households on the waiting list for homes in the area, according to recent council documents.
The homes were granted planning permission in 2018, but Bridge View boss Michael Wight said delays cost the firm £1.2million.
Wight blasted the council for "strangling the business cash flow" by blocking the sale of the homes.
Unexpected costs during construction work cost the developer another £750,000 - draining the budget for 15 affordable homes.
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The costs included a second road, a drainage system and a £750,000 wall.
Affordable housing operators backed out of the development in November last year following the surge in costs.
This meant that the developer was unable to meet planning conditions - so the site was mothballed.
Councillor Dorothy Kirk called the spat a "tragic situation where everybody loses".
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She told the : "I hope somehow we can rescue it. We have to find a solution, end of.
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"I don't want Calstock to be deprived of homes, I don't want to see the developer lose everything.
"It's been a long, expensive and difficult journey. We have to have houses for local people."
Cornwall Council said: "We are committed to working with developers that have been granted planning permission to ensure that a housing development, and the agreed number of affordable housing homes, are delivered in line with the planning permission."
Know your rights
These are your rights if your newbuild property is not ready on time, according to consumer watchdog Which:
Builders must give reliable and realistic information about when the home will be finished, the date of legal completion and the date for hand over of the home.
If an unreasonable delay occurs in finishing the home, you have the right not to go ahead with the purchase and get a full refund of your reservation fee.
But be aware that builders will often give estimated timings in contracts - sometimes overly ambitious timings - which can result in two problems.
The first being that you do move in on time but discover lots of snagging issues (like wonky light switches or incomplete sealant) or the second being that you’re unable to move in on time.
If you have a problem with your developer and need to escalate a complaint, you'll first need to go through its formal complaints process.
If the issue isn't resolved, you can check if your developer is signed up to a code of standards.
Read more on the website.
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