Major repair work needed at delayed Southwick housing scheme

Major repair work is needed at Adur District Council’s new seafront social housing development in Southwick before residents can move in.

The council is building 49 new homes in Albion Street for local residents on its housing waiting list. The scheme includes 25 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom council flats on brownfield land facing Shoreham Harbour, with a mix of social rent and affordable rent homes.

The project has faced significant delays since the original contractor, Westridge Construction, went into administration in September 2023 while work was underway.

For the past two years, the council’s replacement firm, Cheesmur Building Contractors, has been working to address issues with construction work.

As that work has progressed, further significant issues have been identified relating to the building’s weatherproofing and design. The council says dozens of the flats could be at risk of serious ongoing damp problems if the issues are not resolved.

Problems identified include design features which allegedly funnel rainwater into the flats, faulty damp course systems and materials which the council says are allowing excessive levels of moisture into the building during bad weather.

Specialist engineering teams are now considering potential solutions to determine what work is needed to make the homes habitable.

Initial estimates suggest more than £3 million may need to be spent fixing the issues and repairing damage already caused to individual flats.

Councillor Jeremy Gardner, leader of Adur District Council, said: “I am appalled that tenants are not able to move into these homes because of shoddy construction work and poor building design.

“I apologise to those who have been waiting patiently to move into the new flats. They will be even more frustrated than I am that they are still not ready. This simply should not have happened and I have asked for a full report so that I and the public can get the facts on this.

“Investigations into water penetration in these flats are uncovering more and more issues. I want those problems rectified as soon as possible so Adur families in need of somewhere to live can move into these new homes.

“That is what we will be discussing at the committee this month. Later in the year we will consider a report on how this shocking state of affairs came about. We must get to the bottom of how this has taken place. It looks like that will include reviewing poor practice or errors from several years ago.”

The council says it has contacted all residents who were due to move into the new homes and will keep them updated about their options.

A report outlining potential plans to resolve the problems is due to be presented to the council’s joint strategic committee on Tuesday, 14 July.

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