Questions being asked about what happened with major project

A developer has been criticised for ‘simply unacceptable’ delays to a major £3.7m project and questions are now being asked about what went wrong.

Earlier this month, First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) announced it has ended its contract with developer Robwood Construction Limited who were appointed to deliver a 30 affordable apartment scheme on Shaw Street in May 2022. The development was a mix of one and two bedroom flats and was due to be finished in February 2024.

The housing association, which manages around 11,500 homes, said there had been a number of delays to the project but these ‘now are solely focused on poor contractor performance’. FCHO said they had worked with Robwood Construction ‘to address the delays and to ensure the project was finished by the end of last year’.

That included more funds being handed over to the company bringing the total to £3.7m but the scheme has still not been finished. FCHO said it had terminated the contract as ‘progress has still remained unacceptably slow’ and they have now taken over the site to finish it.

Chief executive Mark Gifford said: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly but a delay of more than two years by this main contractor to finish this project is simply unacceptable.

“It has come to the point where we can see no realistic prospect of this development finishing unless we take control.

“This is despite considerable financial and practical support from FCHO including ensuring all payments due to Robwood Construction have been made.”

Mr Gifford said they had sent letters explaining the situation, adding: “We want to see this development finished because people need to move into these homes. We also recognise this has been a building site for too long and nearby residents are rightly concerned about the delays.

“We are now on site and assessing just how long it will take to finish the project. When we have made this assessment, we will be able to give a realistic completion time frame to the community.”

Reform UK councillor for Royton North and group leader, Lewis Quigg, said: “Given the near two-year delays to the project, questions still need to be asked why it took so long. The snap decision to terminate the contract was probably needed given the delays.

“Whether FCHO like it or not, this scheme was a flagship scheme in Royton. Hopefully the scheme can finally be finished. We can only hope that the council ensure the properties go to local people from Royton.”

A FCHO spokesperson added: “We are now in control and we expect to work with some of the respected supply chain that was previously on site to ensure work continues at pace. Everyone can be assured Shaw Street will be completed as soon as possible.”

When asked whether FCHO is looking to recover any of the money given over to developers, the spokesperson said: “The situation is commercially sensitive.”

Robwood Construction was subject to a number of winding-up petitions over the past year, the most recent being filed in April. A winding-up petition is legal action taken by a person or organisation who believes they are owed money.

If successful in court, this gives the right for the company to be wound up if the debt cannot be paid. Chief executive Mark Gifford said: “FCHO was aware of the winding-up petitions Robwood Construction Limited was facing in the summer of last year.

“These are not unusual in the construction sector and in other industries. However we then undertook extensive due diligence around the cash flow and solvency of Robwood before we gave the company further funds for Shaw Street to reflect the well documented and nationwide increases in labour costs and materials.

“Those funds came with a stipulation the project’s supply chain were to be paid with the money and this was overseen by our on-site agent.

“Ultimately, Robwood Construction Limited’s contract was terminated by FCHO due to consistently poor and unacceptable contractor performance and not any solvency issues.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service attempted to contact Robwood Construction through its registered accountants on Companies House about the situation and understands the enquiry has been passed onto the developer.

Lee Birkett, the sole director of the company, has also been approached multiple times for a comment.