Northern Ireland

New build development in north Belfast remains uninhabited six months after being allocated to new tenants

SDLP Paul McCusker at the housing development on the Oldpark Road Picture Mal McCann.
SDLP Paul McCusker at the housing development on the Oldpark Road Picture Mal McCann. SDLP Paul McCusker at the housing development on the Oldpark Road Picture Mal McCann.

A housing association has been accused of "poor practice" after making offers on new homes in north Belfast which have still not been released to householders six months later.

It has been suggested Clanmil Housing Group have left those who accepted the offers for the 22-home development - Oldpark Grange - in "desperate" housing situations, with some sleeping on sofas, and living in cramped conditions.

Offers for the new builds were sent out by the housing group in August, however six months on the completed homes are uninhabited and the site remains locked.

SDLP councillor Paul McCusker branded Clanmil "unprofessional".

"People are getting clearly frustrated at the lack of answers and also in terms of waiting on their new home," he said.

"Many of these people are living in extreme housing stress. Clanmil need to be more proactive around getting these people moved in".

Mr McCusker said there had been a severe lack of communication from Clanmil.

"Many tenants have been getting different messages from Clanmil," he said.

"One tenant said it was an issue that the home was sinking. Another resident was told it was a (Belfast) city council issue. There has been different messages given to new tenants of this development.

"When I phoned the council they said it was not their issue. They are waiting on an environmental consultant report from the contractor that Clanmil appointed and until they get this report they are not happy to sign off on the planning application.

"People were given offers last August. We are now six months on and people are living in extreme housing stress.

"As far as I am aware one or two people have given the offers back because of the wait. People are now back on the waiting list because of the lack of movement from Clanmil.

"For a big organisation, it's unprofessional. They need to ensure this doesn't happen again moving forward to other developments. It's very poor practice".

A spokeswoman for Clanmill said the development "had been expected to be completed in early Autumn 2018" however was not completed until December as the "contractor did not meet this date".

"As with most brown-field sites, part of the planning consent for the new homes required our contractor to complete remedial ground works on the site, which had previously been the location of a window blind factory.

"In order to sign off on the scheme, Belfast City Council Environmental Health has requested further detail on the remediation works that have been completed. Further tests have been carried out and a report will be submitted to the Council within the next week".

She added:"We are in regular contact with the people who have been allocated the new homes, keeping them up-to-date".