Delegated powers to speed up the delivery of troubled housing scheme

Nottingham City Council has used delegated powers as it looks to speed up the delivery of a troubled housing scheme.

106 affordable, council-owned homes are being built at the development on the site of the former Eastglade School, five miles north of Nottingham city centre.

The scheme was originally being delivered by contractor Robert Woodhead, but the Edwinstowe-based company collapsed into liquidation last September blaming soaring costs and the impact of fixed-price contracts.

The site has since been subject to break-ins, fires and vandalism, with windows being smashed and EV charge points stolen.

It is estimated that delays cost £45,000 per month in lost rent, insurance and security.

The first phase was mostly built and work was well-progressed on the remaining second phase.

Lovell Partnership was named principal contractor of phase A in January with the aim of handing over completed units quickly.

Now the City Council has used delegated powers to keep Lovell on site to complete phase B.

In a statement explaining the decision, the City Council said: “The preferred option is to retain Lovell on the scheme for continuity. This is due to the development already having had two different principal contractors and operationally it is undesirable to introduce a third contractor as this could lead to a complicated defects process and an increased amount of time for learning the project.”

The first 53 homes, in phase A, are expected to be completed in January, while work on phase B will now be able to overlap rather than waiting for Lovell to complete. The phases include 23 one-bed flats, 63 two-bed houses and 20 three-bed homes.