Councillors to examine housing development concerns and complaints

A new group of councillors is to scrutinise longstanding concerns and complaints from residents on new housing developments.

Made up of members of Shropshire Council’s Place Overview Committee, the Housing Developments Task and Finish group will examine shoddy works, building control and planning enforcement, as well as open space and highways adoptions.

The group will hold a series of meetings, along with a walking tour of recent developments – and will be seeking input from residents about issues they have faced.

The group hopes to finish its work in early 2023. A report of its findings will then be presented to a meeting of the council’s Cabinet.

Joyce Barrow, Chair of Place Overview Committee, said:-

“At a recent meeting of the committee, concerns were raised about poor workmanship and incomplete public realm works on a recently built housing development in Shrewsbury*.

“Members learned that these had manifested elsewhere in Shropshire, and that Shropshire Council may have policy options that could minimise or mitigate these issues in future developments. We therefore agreed to set up a Task and Finish group, under the auspices of the Place Overview Committee.”

The aim of the group is to understand the specific issues that residents and builders of a newly completed housing development might face, and where responsibility for those issues sits – and to examine the policy and legislative framework that results in these challenges for residents, housing developers, and the local council.

The group will also research the extent to which these issues may exist within Shropshire, and make policy recommendations that will ensure that housing developments are completed fully and at pace.

Further information

*Concerns raised included:

• Low-quality work inside properties, such as doors not fitting door frames
• Communal open space left unplanted or not being landscaped
• Roads and pavements left unfinished
• Raised metalworks
• Plant and equipment left on site for long periods.

Task and Finish groups may be established by one of the council’s scrutiny/overview committees to conduct an in-depth review of any service, policy or issue that affects the council’s area, and which falls under the committee’s remit. They can also be set up by Cabinet or full Council.