An extra £1.7million has been agreed by Adur District Council’s cabinet for 49 council homes in Albion Street, Southwick.
The decision comes after the previous developer, Westridge Construction, went insolvent last year, seeing construction on the development delayed and a new contractor, Cheesmur Building Contractors, appointed.
The funds will come from the council’s Hidden Homes budget, set aside to reduce housing demand in Adur, with £998,000 to be claimed back through an insolvency bond as a form of insurance against the collapse of Westridge Construction.
Concern was raised by opposition members about whether or not the development would go ahead following delays, as it was partially reliant on a time-sensitive £2.4million Homes England grant.
A report to the cabinet said Homes England had reviewed the development and would be carrying over its grant into 2024/25.
The council’s cabinet member for Adur Homes and customer services, Carson Albury (Con, Manor), said the development was ‘still viable’ and the tenants were the ‘most important thing’ in the scheme.
He said: “The main thing is we have to get this building up and running as quickly as possible – we’ve got 49 flats there that our tenants are waiting for. We must get them into good, substantial properties.”
He said another development at Mash Barn, Lancing, numbering about 400 new homes, and another in Sompting would help further increase housing supply in Adur.
According to the cabinet report, the total budget for the development was about £12.1million, with only £942,000 left before the agreed increase in funding, with an anticipated completion cost of around £2.7million, including £190,000 in emergency costs currently underway.
