Frustrated residents to be quizzed as part of 'shoddy' housing development work probe
Residents will be quizzed by councillors investigating shoddy and unfinished housing developments.
Shropshire Council's Place Overview Scrutiny Committee agreed in September to look at the issue after increasing numbers of complaints from new homeowners who said they had been let down by developers.
Now the councillor leading the group has said they expect to complete their work early in the new year – and will look at potential policy changes that could prevent issues in the future.
Made up of members of Shropshire Council’s Place Overview scrutiny committee, 'The housing developments task and finish group' will examine "shoddy works, building control and planning enforcement, as well as open space and highways adoptions".
The group will hold a series of meetings, along with a walking tour of recent developments – and will be seeking input from residents about issues they have faced.
Once it has finished its work a report of the findings will be presented to a meeting of the council’s cabinet.
Joyce Barrow, Chair of the Place Overview committee, said: "At a recent meeting of the committee, concerns were raised about poor workmanship and incomplete public realm works on a recently built housing development in Shrewsbury.
"Members learned that these had manifested elsewhere in Shropshire, and that Shropshire Council may have policy options that could minimise or mitigate these issues in future developments. We therefore agreed to set up a task and finish group, under the auspices of the Place Overview committee.”
Issues raised about developments had included low-quality work inside properties such as doors not fitting door frames, communal open spaces being left unplanted or not being landscaped, roads and pavements left unfinished, raised metalworks, and plant and equipment left on site for long periods.
The group says its aim is to understand the specific issues that residents and builders of a newly completed housing development might face, and where responsibility for those issues sits.
They will then examine the policy and legislative framework that causes the problems.
