Questions over long delay for major housing scheme

Questions are set to be asked about why a major housing project remains unbuilt nearly two years after the first people should have moved in.

Norwich City Council initially put plans forward more than a decade ago to redevelop the Mile Cross depot site and officials initially said the first homes would be completed in 2024.

But while the site has been cleared, building work is not expected to start until later this year - with the hope that residents will move into properties in 2028.

To understand what caused the delays, a cross-party panel of councillors will this week scrutinise the project which aims to build up to 170 houses.

A series of questions have been levelled at officials at the Labour-run authority, who have responded in a report ahead of the meeting.

Council officers have blamed the slow progress on "difficult ground conditions" and have called the site "extremely complex" due to it being brownfield land.

This means extra work had to be completed to remove hazardous materials following the demolition of former city council depot buildings on the site off Mile Cross Lane.

While progress has been slow, building work for the first phase of 67 social housing homes is expected to begin in October.

Once that starts, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said it is expected to take between 18 to 24 months for the homes to be completed.

There are currently 3,300 people on waiting lists for council housing in the city.

Officials say delivering the homes has been "severely affected by challenging economic circumstances, with rising build costs creating viability concerns".

Water pollution rules also caused problems in new housing getting planning permission.

Officers denied the delay to the Mile Cross development has had any effect on rates of homelessness and rough sleeping.

The city council's scrutiny committee will meet on Thursday to discuss the delays.

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