We live next to a £100million 'ghost' housing estate
We live next to a £100million ‘ghost’ housing estate – we haven’t seen any activity on the sites for months
Residents living next to a ‘ghost’ £100million housing development have said they have not seen activity on the site for months – after it emerged the contractor had collapsed into adminstration.
The future of 313 homes off Clipstone Road East in the village of Clipstone, near Mansfield hang in the balance after Sherwood Oaks Homes went bust.
Locals living opposite the eyesore claimed they were unaware that Sherwood Oaks Homes had even collapsed.
Gary Duerden, who has lived in Clipstone Road East for around 10 years, said: ‘About five or six weeks ago I did see cabins being moved off the site. It’s a shame because I know that some people had issues with it, but I’ve got no problems with new housing because we do need it.
‘The only issue I did have is that with new housing you need new amenities. If you lived in Arnold or Beeston there would have been something built with the development, but there’s no investment around here.’
Alex Saunders said: ‘I’ve not seen much for a few months. You do see some men in high-vis jackets sometimes but that’s very rarely. I do remember seeing some couples visiting the properties a while ago.’
The future of 313 homes hangs in the balance as Sherwood Oaks Homes had been working on the project off Clipstone Road East in the village of Clipstone, near Mansfield (pictured)
Lynsey Gibson is a town councillor and lives on the estate in Hetton-le-Hole, Sunderland, with her partner and three children
The local council confirmed yesterday that the company had gone into administration, which now means the future of 313 homes hangs in the balance
The area was due to receive a number of other benefits as part of Sherwood Oak Homes’ planning agreement with Mansfield District Council, with building work having started in October 2021.
READ MORE: Inside Britain’s eerie ‘ghost’ housing estates: From seafront apartments to NHS homes and ‘warzones’ – how locals are condemned to live beside land abandoned by developers
This would have included the planting of oak trees, improvements to local walking and cycling routes, and investment at the Spa Ponds and Vicars Water nature reserves.
But also believing there were issues with the project was Pete Cooper, 56, who said: ‘I bought this house 30 years ago for the land and for the view. That doesn’t get taken into account now.
‘I knew something wasn’t right with it. But in an area like this, an old pit village, you’re not going to get people paying £500,000 for a three or four-bedroom house.’
Another Clipstone Road East resident, in his 50s, said: ‘We moved here eight years ago from Essex because there was no traffic, but now it’s just like Essex was back then.
‘It’s just getting worse. It’s a pity they didn’t go bust before they started building the houses.’
Although Sherwood Oak Homes’ principal trading address is at its Clipstone site, the firm’s registered address is in Essex. Arron Kendall and Milan Vuceljic of administrator Moorfields were appointed on October 3, according to the London Gazette.
Martyn Saxton, Head of Planning and Regeneration at Mansfield District Council said: ‘Whilst the company in question may have gone into administration, the development has commenced.
‘Therefore, any company buying the site could implement the remaining development as approved or submit an alternative scheme for the remainder of the development.’
It comes as furious families living in Hetton-le-Hole, Sunderland, are having to look at ‘prison-like’ hoardings outside their homes after a housing estate was abandoned when the builders went bust.
The view from Ms Gibson’s home. She has hit out at social housing association Gentoo as wants to know ‘how long we are going to have to be tortured by this eyesore’
Furious families living in Hetton-le-Hole, Sunderland, are having to look at ‘prison-like’ hoardings outside their homes. Pictured: The housing estate
Like Sherwood Oaks Homes, the development came to a grinding halt when builders Tolent went into administration.
Fed-up householders have had to put up with dust, noise, mud, and claim cracks started to appear in their homes when work started on the 86-home development in July 2022.
READ MORE: Welcome to the ‘ghost town’ NHS housing estate which locals claim has become magnet for fly-tippers, vandals and drug dealers after it was ‘left to rot’ three years ago
However, an independent company carried out surveys on the homes and found the cracks were not related to the works.
Social housing provider Gentoo says it understands people’s frustrations but the unfinished work is due to circumstances out of their control.
Hetton Town councillor Lynsey Gibson lives with her partner Glenn and three children on the estate and said: ‘It was bad enough when the site was ongoing, but since work stopped, we have been left with an eyesore.
‘Residents are left looking at hoarding boards in a prison-like environment.
After I complained about the noise from the security guard, I was told this will be changing to an occasional guard, but I am concerned about the noise from metal gates opening during the night.’
Similarly, a half-built £20million Kent seafront housing estate has also been left unfinished.
The site has become a ‘disgusting dumping ground’ for vandals and fly-tippers has sparked fury among locals in Kent.
The Sands, a new-build estate in St Mary’s Bay on Romney Marsh, was expected to welcome its first residents in the summer of 2019 but supply issues delayed the build.
More than four years on, contractors are nowhere to be seen and furious locals say the prime site – which is full of pigeons and rabbits – has become a ‘disgrace’.
Bob Thomson, who lives a few doors down from the abandoned estate in Dymchurch Road, says the whole 85-home development needs pulling down.
‘It would cost more to put right due to the state it is in,’ he said.
‘You can see the pigeons living in the buildings with all the broken windows.
‘We used to have security guards living in static caravans to stop people entering the site, but since work stopped anyone can wander on there.
‘Loads of people have been fly-tipping. I think it’s a disgrace.’
The Sands (pictured), a new-build estate in St Mary’s Bay on Romney Marsh, was expected to welcome its first residents in the summer of 2019 but supply issues delayed the build. But it has become a dumping ground occupied by pigeons and rabbits
The half-built and crumbling The Sands – a £20 million estate in St Mary’s Bay, Kent
More than four years on, contractors are nowhere to be seen and furious locals say the prime site – which is full of pigeons and rabbits – has become a ‘disgrace’. Pictured: Estate in St Mary’s Bay, Kent
The half-broken fencing around the empty homes makes it easy for anyone to wander onto the land and cause damage. Pictured: Estate in St Mary’s Bay, Kent
In 2016, plans submitted by Stanford-based developer FDC Homes Ltd were approved by Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) for 59 houses and 26 apartments.
The site was later sold to Compass Builders Ltd and work commenced in early 2018, but a national shortage of plasterboard delayed the expected launch the following summer.
In 2019, several of the new-build homes were up for sale on Rightmove, with prices ranging from £130,000 for a one-bed apartment to £490,000 for a four-bed town house.
The advert promised ‘quality finishes throughout, contemporary kitchens and bathrooms, parking to all units as well as special care and attention to every aspect of the development’.
Neighbours say construction did continue on the site but came to a halt in early 2022, with many building materials left abandoned around the plot.
Compass Builders Ltd then fell into administration earlier this year, leaving a huge question mark over the future of the development.
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