Assheton Court, Portchester: Older residents housing scheme delayed by extreme weather, says Fareham council boss
A wet spring and a hot summer have not been conducive to quick progress on the rebuilding project
Unusually wet and hot weather has been blamed for delaying the completion of a major housing scheme for older residents
The update on the redevelopment of Assheton Court in Portchester was given to councillors at Fareham Borough Council’s housing advisory panel on September 15.
The project will replace a former later living scheme containing 33 units with a new development providing 60 homes.
Speaking at the meeting, the council’s head of housing, Robyn Lyons, said the scheme had been “a long time in the making” and remained one of the authority’s key development projects.
She told councillors there had been strong interest from prospective tenants, particularly because some of the new homes have been designed to be wheelchair accessible.
However, she said hopes of completing the development by the end of this year had been affected by weather conditions experienced in recent months.
Ms Lyons said: “We had hoped that it would finish towards the end of this year, but we have had a very bad year for weather when it comes to development.
“We had some of the wettest weather in the spring when we were at the stage where the building wasn’t watertight.
“Then we’ve had one of the hottest summers for a prolonged period of time, and this really has impacted time scales.
“We’ll have a clearer picture within the coming weeks and months about when we would expect to take handover of that site.”
Despite the setback, she told the panel it was more important to ensure the council took ownership of a high-quality building rather than rushing completion.
Ms Lyons said officers did not want to push against deadlines if it risked residents moving into a building with avoidable defects or outstanding issues.
She added: “We want that tenant experience to be successful when tenants are moving into that property.”
Applicants who have registered an interest in moving to Assheton Court are being kept informed of developments and any changes to the timetable.
Councillors were told that the scheme had continued to make progress despite the delays and that the building was now taking shape.