A Nottinghamshire council says it investigating the foundations of a new housing development after leaked documents revealed they did not meet requirements. Pile foundations of the Newark and Sherwood District Council homes development in North Gate, Newark, were not up to standard, according to official documents.
Structural engineering review documents, which have been seen by Nottinghamshire Live, say there was insufficient site investigation at the design stage and substantiated assumptions made in the pile design. They also say the length of the piles - columns inserted into the ground - were inadequate in length.
The district council said it was working with a contractor to complete a "new and full investigation" into the pile foundations. Robert Woodhead Ltd was providing the 12 houses for the council before the firm went into liquidation last September, causing work on the project to stall.
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A spokesperson from Newark and Sherwood District Council said work will commence in the next couple of weeks. "The building is being monitored with weekly inspections taking place by the District Council and there are no signs of any safety issues with the building," they said.
“Building work on this site has paused since our contractor went into liquidation. Works to the development will re-commence when we have completed additional investigations into the foundations and a new contractor has been appointed to complete the development. Delivery of the site is still expected during the 2023/24 housing delivery programme.”
Retired Cicely Sugden, who lives near the development, said the work had made a mess of the road. "I think that's unfair as we have lived here with the worst part of the disruption and with what's gone on there and what hasn't happened yet," she said. "It's the wrong place for it, and the mess they have made with the road."
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