Hadleigh homes at old Babergh council offices to be reviewed

The news comes after it was announced on Wednesday that the first 11 homes at the ex-Babergh District Council offices in Corks Lane, Hadleigh, have been put on the market. 

A spokesperson for Babergh District Council said it is "delivering on our promised investment" in the town "without compromising over the quality of the development."

The former offices are being converted into 49 homes (Image: Lucy Taylor) Forty-nine homes are being built at the site, which will be known as Bowlers Croft. 

The agenda from the Joint Audit and Standards Committee meeting on September 23 states it is anticipated the development will make a loss of £3million. 

Minutes from the meeting show the loss was questioned by Councillor Simon Dowling. 

It is anticipated there will be a loss on the scheme of around £3million (Image: Lucy Taylor) It is noted in the minutes: "The Director – Finance and Procurement responded that further work had been done to develop the site and the increased cost of construction and materials contributed to the loss and additional challenges were discovered in this development and which added extra costs."

The development initially ran alongside the project at the former Angel Court care home, which was converted into 21 social housing homes and completed in 2021. 

While the 21 homes were constructed three years ago, a spokesperson for the council said "complexities with the Corks Lane site has meant the development has taken longer, and spanned several different administrations."

They added: "Although these delays have incurred additional costs, it was important that we took the time for the necessary community engagement to take place, and to develop a scheme that allowed a sympathetic conversation of the historic elements of the site – retaining original features and character – whilst also delivering 49 new, high-quality homes.

Councillors, directors and project leaders recently toured the homes (Image: Babergh District Council) "We’ve been very clear about the financial challenge the council faces, and would obviously prefer to make a profit on any project, but ultimately this is about delivering on our promised investment in Hadleigh – without compromising over the quality of the development."

The matter has been referred to the Babergh Overview and Scrutiny Committee for review. 

Babergh District Council’s joint venture company Babergh Growth, which is a partnership with Norse Group, worked with Gipping Construction on the development.