Council flat extensions in Northampton nearly finished after two years of 'nightmare' construction work

A completion date has been revealed for 20 new council flats which are being built on top of two existing flat blocks in Northampton.

Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH) has revealed when construction work at Woodstock, in Billing Road, and Dover Court, in St James Road, will be finished following two years of building work at both sites.

Once complete, both sites will have 10 new flats each, according to planning papers.

Winston Williams, director of asset management at NPH said: “The Dover Court project began in February 2021, and as a result of Covid, contractual delays and changes to fire regulations, has been extensively delayed. The revised completion date is the end of February 2023.

"The project at Woodstock began in March 2021 and has been affected by the same challenges and delays, however the revised completion date is the end of March 2023. Both projects are currently on course to meet the new completion dates.

"Once signed off by building control, the properties will be available through West Northamptonshire Council’s lettings policy with our housing management team working hard to welcome residents to their new homes as quickly as possible.”

Mr Williams added: "The cost of the project quoted includes not only 10 brand new homes, but upgrades to the existing building.

"A new energy efficient communal boiler system has been installed, internal and external improvement works have been carried out, the car park will be extended and most importantly we have upgraded fire safety features across the whole building to ensure that we comply with new building safety act regulations.”

NPH has been asked how much in total the project has cost.

The council house provider said in 2019 that its aim was to 'add to the town's social housing stock by building upwards rather than outwards'.

The original completion dates were November 2021 for Dover Court, and December 2021 for Woodstock.

However, since construction started, there have been issues including multiple Covid lockdowns, disruption to current tenants, and the steel frame manufacturer for the roof extension going into liquidation earlier this year.

One disgruntled resident living at Woodstock while construction was ongoing told the Chron in June that the works have been a 'nightmare'.

The unhappy resident said: “It’s been a nightmare for everyone, especially those on the top floor. Our welfare is completely ignored. NPH never should have been allowed to perform this work while people lived below.

"There are signs around the site claiming, ‘we are considerate constructors’. It’s a bad joke.”