Now more than 80 new build homes will be torn down on upmarket estate
Now more than 80 newbuilds worth up to £850K will be torn down on upmarket estate due to ‘foundation problems’: Developers Barratt and David Wilson Homes DOUBLE number of houses that must be destroyed after earmarking original 36 for demolition in June
- Darwin Green estate near Cambridge has outline approval for 1,593 new homes
- But issues with trench fill foundations mean 83 will now need to be demolished
Developers will be forced to demolish and rebuild more than 80 new homes worth an estimated £40million due to ‘shocking’ problems with their foundations.
The Darwin Green estate, located less than two miles from Cambridge city centre, is still under construction and has outline approval for 1,593 new homes.
Developers Barratt and David Wilson said in June that they had discovered issues with the design of some homes under construction on phase two of the project.
The problem is said to have been caused by the ‘trench fill foundations’ for affected houses being built without adequate ‘heave protection’ to combat subsidence.
The developers told residents at the time that foundations of 84 ‘incomplete and unoccupied’ homes were ‘insufficient given the geology of the next phase’.
The new housing development at Darwin Green in Cambridgeshire is photographed today
The Darwin Green estate is located less than two miles from Cambridge city centre
The estate is still under construction and has outline approval for 1,593 new homes
Initially, they said that 30 homes worth an estimated £20million would need to be demolished and rebuilt, and the remaining plots would ‘also require work to remove the foundations and any other structures that have been started’.
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In documents submitted to Cambridge City Council this month the developers said that ‘circa 83 units’ would need to be demolished.
The affected properties are said to be worth more than £40million in total – and the issues will now cost millions of pounds to fix.
The developers said tiles and other materials will be salvaged where possible, and concrete and brick will be crushed on site and reused.
At a city council meeting earlier this month, planning officers said they did not believe permission for the demolition work would be given before the end of October.
In light of the problems, Liberal Democrat councillor Cheney Payne admitted she ‘couldn’t quite believe it’ when the council was first informed of the planned demolition.
She said: ‘The buildings are already in place and pretty much completed. To suddenly find they’re not fit to be occupied and actually need to be demolished is absolutely shocking.
‘It’s certainly been quite concerning for the residents who are living in nearby properties, built by the same developer, in terms of what it means for their homes.’
In the letter to residents in June, the developers said that ‘some of the properties which require demolition had been reserved by our customers’.
Developers Barratt and David Wilson discovered issues with the design of some homes
Labour councillors Antoinette Nestor (left) and Simon Smith (right) are pictured on the Darwin Green estate in Cambridge in June, close to houses which are now facing demolition
The problem is said to have been caused by the ‘trench fill foundations’ for affected houses
‘We have met with all of the customers whose homes are affected on Phase Two and have offered them a range of options and support,’ they said.
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‘We are pleased that many have decided to continue with their purchase of a new home at Darwin Green.’
The letter, from Barratt and David Wilson Homes Cambridgeshire, added: ‘We sincerely apologise for any negative impact this situation may have on you and we are fully committed to minimising any impact of the remedial work as much as we possibly can.’
The developers said they had been working with the local authority and a demolition contractor to prepare a plan which has ‘as little impact on existing residents and the wider environment and community as possible’.
Demolition proposals have now been submitted to the local authority and are awaiting a planning decision.
The Darwin Green estate is still being built and when completed, it will be made up of around 1,500 homes.
New-build houses on the Darwin Green development in Cambridgeshire are being demolished
Caner Altinbasak, 43, outside his home on the estate which is close to those facing demolition
The developer said tiles and other materials will be salvaged where possible
The homes sell for at least £575,000 each, with some selling for as much as £850,000.
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Developers originally said that it was a ‘small number’ of unoccupied homes that ‘did not meet its usual high standards’.
Back in June, Labour city councillor Simon Smith said: ‘I will make sure to work closely with residents to navigate this distressing situation.
‘Unfortunately, this event reminds us of the risks of deregulation of standards and procedures that were put in place to secure high standards of development and avoid failures that present danger to the public and harm to the environment.’
Also in June, MailOnline spoke to neighbours living next to the 36 houses which were first listed for demolition, and they spoke of their fears that their homes might also have to be knocked down.
Software engineer Caner Altinbasak, 43, who has lived for early three years on the development with his with wife and two children in a £700,000 four bedroom house, said at the time: ‘I am worried that the same design mistake might have happened to our house as well.
‘It is worrying that these affected houses seem to have passed various tests until nearly the point when keys were going to be handed to owners.
‘That makes me worry that our house might have passed 100 per cent of checks during the building process, but could now be found faulty.’
Also speaking in June was software architect Eyal Lantzman, 42, who lives with his wife and three children. He said: ‘I am concerned about the impact on my property.
Demolition proposals have now been submitted to the local authority in Cambridgeshire
Darwin Green Residents Association secretary George Crawley, 56, has said he is ‘concerned’
The homes being demolished are among 450 upmarket houses built in Cambridgeshire
‘It would be a nightmare scenario if our house turned out to have the same issues, although we have insurance and I am sure we would be properly compensated.
‘I just want to make sure that our house is safe. It is a concern that it could affect house prices and put off buyers. We need to get proper reassurances.’
Biomedical engineer George Crawley, 56, the secretary of the Darwin Green Residents Association, said in June that he was only the sixth person to move on to the development in 2019 when he took on his first floor flat.
He said: ‘It is a wonderful community. There are lots of professors, academics and lecturers. The joke is that the list of people without a PhD is shorter than those with one.
‘I am very concerned for people who were in the process of buying these houses. Some have bought furniture, and stopped leases on existing houses, to get ready to move in.
‘Now they have been let down. Some are hanging on another year for their houses to be ready while others are having to buy elsewhere.’
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