People 'facing homelessness' as work on half-built housing site grinds to halt after contractor goes bust

People who bought affordable houses on a half-built estate could face homelessness after the contractor went bust, it is feared. Back in 2019, Stockport council gave the go ahead for a new 87-home development on land off Melford Road, in Hazel Grove.

Planning chiefs welcomed the scheme, which was to be delivered by Viaduct Housing - a partnership between Stockport council and Stockport Homes- and boast a ‘large chunk’ of much-need affordable housing. But, more than three years on, progress at the site - a former BT depot - has ground to a halt after contractor Mulbury Homes Ltd filed for administration.

Councillor Oliver Johnstone raised the issue at a recent council meeting, noting that there was ‘obviously a serious problem’. He told councillors he understood Viaduct was advising people who had put deposits down to look at ‘alternative residential arrangements’ in the long term.

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“I would like to know what we are planning to do with that, because that’s a half built site,” he told members of the communities and housing scrutiny committee.

Coun Amanda Peers, who chairs the scrutiny committee, concurred. “It’s really important we get up-to-date information about when this matter is likely to be resolved, because people are actually facing homelessness,” she said.

“They have sold their houses, they have moved into temporary accommodation, they have been promised date, after date, after date - and they [the homes] are still not finished. So I agree we need some answers for them.”

Mark Glyn, the council’s director place management, admitted it was a ‘complicated contractual mess’ - but told members he would update them once