New homes for our residents: Albion Street, Southwick - FAQs

What was the original budget for the project?

The original total approved scheme budget for the Albion Street development was £12,191,000.

How was it to be funded?

The scheme was funded entirely through our Housing Revenue Account (HRA) using borrowing, receipts from the sale of council homes to tenants, and Homes England grant funding.

Who approved the project?

The Joint Strategic Committee formally recommended the final financial strategy and additional funding allocation in February 2020. The Full Council then approved the funding. Our then Director for Communities awarded the final construction contract to Westridge in November 2020.

How was the original contractor chosen?

The contractor was selected through a multi-stage competitive procurement process. This involved the shortlisting of potential contractors and an evaluation of the tenders submitted.

Who designed the building?

The design team consisted of:

• Architects: Liam Russell Architects (now in liquidation)
• Structural & Civil Engineers: Scott White & Hookins
• Building Services Engineers: Freeman Beesley
• Landscape Designer: Nicholas Dexter
• Consultants: Bowden Property Consulting Ltd and Digital CRE (now dissolved)

When did the council first become aware of problems with the construction of the development?

While the physical construction seemed to progress, we were aware of structural delays quite early into the build. Work started on site in March 2021 but it was heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, bad weather and complex underground issues.

By late 2022, the project had formally missed its extension deadline, and we began actively deducting financial damages from our monthly payments to Westridge due to late completion. However it was not until August 2023 when Westridge Construction officially went insolvent that we were forced to formally terminate the contract.

What steps did the council take in response?

Once Westridge went out of business, we brought in a local construction firm to make the site safe, run the heating and ventilation systems, and complete urgent roof repairs to stop the building from deteriorating.

We successfully negotiated with Homes England to protect a £2.4 million government grant that was at risk of being lost due to the delays and then triggered our insolvency bond - an insurance policy built into the original deal - to claw back nearly £1 million from insurers to help pay for the disruption.

How was the replacement contractor chosen?

Because the building was estimated to be roughly 90% complete but exposed to winter weather, waiting months to run a new public bidding competition would have caused the structure to deteriorate and put the grant funding at risk. Instead we used emergency procurement regulations to directly hire Cheesmur, a company the council had successfully worked with on other local building projects.

At that stage, what was the budget for the project and when was it expected to be completed?

When Cheesmur took over the site in December 2023, we combined the remaining unspent project funds (£942,336) with an emergency transfer of £1,776,000 from other housing budgets. This set the revised project budget at £13,967,166 to cover the cost of completing Westridge's unfinished work.

After Cheesmur took on the project, what work needed to be finished?

When the replacement builder, Cheesmur, stepped in, the project was physically about 90% complete but required extensive structural finishing. The key tasks remaining included:

• Completing the external cladding and balconies.
• Finalising all the external site works.
• Executing the internal fit-outs of the flats.
• Completing the main mechanical and electrical installations.

What other issues were discovered later?

Because the site sat vacant and unfinished during the original builder's collapse, a number of serious hidden defects were only uncovered when work restarted.

Faulty and incomplete cladding left behind by Westridge had allowed rain to leak in, causing extensive condensation and interior water damage across multiple flats.

The vital foul drainage connection along the A259 had not been completed, which required specialist tunnelling and a partial road closure to fix.

In addition several other examples of substandard construction work came to light which meant items had to be removed and rectified.

What action has the council taken in response?

The council has continuously stepped in to fund and authorise corrective actions. We approved a completion contract with Cheesmur to ensure it could fix problems as they appeared, rather than us having to wait for a rigid bidding process to be completed.

What is the current budget for the project?

The total approved budget for the Albion Street project has risen to £19.6m.

This includes the £3.2m increase approved by members in July 2026.

How is it now being funded?

The entirety of the increased cost is being funded through the council's internal Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital budget, including the £997,830 successfully recovered from the insolvency insurance bond.

What is the impact of the increase in the cost on Adur taxpayers?

There is no direct impact on day-to-day council tax for Adur taxpayers - the project is entirely funded within the ring-fenced Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which deals solely with council housing assets.

Who will move into Albion Street when it is completed?

The 49 flats at Albion Street will be used entirely for local people on Adur's housing register.

When will the first tenants move in?

We are working incredibly hard to get the first tenants into their new homes as soon as possible, but we cannot allow anyone to move in until the building is formally signed off as completely finished, structurally sound, and entirely safe to occupy.

As soon as independent building inspectors sign the properties off as fully compliant, safe, and ready for habitation, we will immediately begin helping our first local families to move into the new homes.

Can tenants move in before the work is completed if their flats are not affected?

No, tenants will not be able to move into any part of the building until all of the corrective work is entirely finished and the whole development has been officially signed off.

We completely understand how frustrating this delay is, especially for families whose individual flats look completely ready to live in. However, the safety of our residents is our absolute number one priority, and we cannot take any shortcuts.

Even if a specific flat has no internal defects, the safety of the wider building must be treated as a single, connected system. Under the strict rules of the UK's Building Safety Act, taller residential blocks must be independently inspected, certified and legally signed off as completely safe as a whole structure before a single resident can move in.

Will those tenants who were previously told they could move in get compensation?

No, prospective tenants who were bidding for or hoping to move into the Albion Street flats will not receive financial compensation for the construction delays.

While we deeply regret the frustration and inconvenience these unexpected defects have caused, standard council housing rules mean that compensation is usually only paid to existing tenants for issues they experience inside their home.

How will the increase in the project's cost affect the new tenants when they move in?

It won't. The increase in the project's construction cost will have absolutely no impact on the rent or the tenancy conditions for the new tenants moving into Albion Street.

Has the council begun a review into the way the project has been managed?

Yes. We take our responsibility to local taxpayers and residents incredibly seriously, and a formal "lessons learned" review is underway.

Building major housing developments is highly complex, and the collapse of the project's original construction firm created unprecedented challenges. While our immediate, absolute priority has been making the building safe and completing the homes for local families, it is equally important that we look back objectively at how the project was handled.

This exercise is not about looking backward for its own sake; it is about ensuring that we learn everything we can from this experience. The findings will be used to strengthen our processes, improve how we manage large-scale construction risks, and ensure that future council housing projects are delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Will the council take legal action to recover some of its costs from anyone involved in this project?

As our legal and contractual relationship was solely with the main contractor, Westridge, we have no legal standing to pursue compensation for any defective work done by the various subcontractors employed directly by Westridge.

Under construction law, responsibility for managing subcontractors and ensuring their work met the required standards rested entirely with Westridge. When Westridge went into insolvency, the legal avenue to hold those specific subcontractors accountable through that contract was effectively severed. This is precisely why having the Performance and Insolvency Bond in place was so critical, as it provided the only viable route to recover public funds.

This bond acted as a specialist insurance policy designed precisely to protect public funds if a contractor went out of business. The council has successfully claimed and received £997,830 from the insurers under this bond to help cover the financial impact of the original builder's collapse.

What happens next?

Further investigations in 2026 revealed significant issues relating to the building's weatherproofing and design. Dozens of the flats are at risk of serious ongoing damp issues if they are not resolved. Problems that have been discovered include design features that funnel rainwater into the flats, faulty damp course systems that have been installed and poorly chosen materials, which are allowing excessive levels of moisture into the building during bad weather.

We pulled together a technical team with architectural, construction and surveying expertise and they recommended the removal of false feature columns which are allowing moisture into the building. Brickwork on the sea-facing side of the building will also be replaced with more rain-resistant bricks, and sealant will be applied to provide better waterproofing on all other brickwork.

Balconies on the southern side of the building are being taken down and replaced with free-standing equivalents, while insulation and faulty cavity trays within the external walls is to be replaced.

Work will also be needed to repair water damage to around half of the 49 flats in the development before tenants will be able to move in.

That work has begun and we will keep everyone updated via our:

• Adur District Council Facebook page

• Go back to the Albion Street, Southwick, page

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