Is Corby Council buying up homes from company at centre of 'bad build' storm?

Corby Council is refusing to say whether or not it is buying a number of homes at Priors Hall from a housebuilder currently at the centre of bad build expose.
Eleven households have made public their Larkfleet problems.Eleven households have made public their Larkfleet problems.
Eleven households have made public their Larkfleet problems.

Last month the authority decided to use money from some of its Right to Buy receipts to purchase a number of homes at the housing development near Weldon, along with another batch of houses at Oakley Rise.

The details were kept under wraps and the decision was made in private by councillors on the One Corby Policy Committee.

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It is understood the homes being bought could be from Larkfleet Homes which is selling and marketing properties at its Gretton Valley site, but Corby Council has refused to confirm or deny the purchase.

Corby Council has refused to deny it in talks to by homes from Larkfleet at its Priors Hall development.Corby Council has refused to deny it in talks to by homes from Larkfleet at its Priors Hall development.
Corby Council has refused to deny it in talks to by homes from Larkfleet at its Priors Hall development.

It is buying the Oakley Vale homes from Allison Homes, which is part of Larkfleet Homes.

Last week the plight of 11 householders who have bought sub-standard houses from the Bourne-Based developer was publicised by the Northamptonshire Telegraph.

Familes have had to move into temporary accommodation and suffered gas leaks and burst pipes along with a number of other faults.

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It follows a family coming forward in March about their Kestrel Road Larkfleet Homes house having almost 200 defects.

Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service whether the properties the council was buying at Priors Hall were from Larkfleet Homes, the authority three times refused to answer the question and instead reissued an old statement.

It said: “As previously advised, Members of Corby Borough Council’s One Corby Policy Committee have agreed to purchase housing on Priors Hall and Oakley Rise and will endeavour to release further details when appropriate.”

Lead member for housing at Corby Council Cllr Bob Eyles said he was not sure who the council was doing a deal with and had not spoken to housing officers since the meeting when a decision to buy was made.

He said: “I was ill at the last meeting so I don’t know.”

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He said he would be quite happy for Corby Council to purchase homes from Larkfleet ‘as long as the properties were OK’. He also said he had not read any of the recent news stories about the poor quality of the homes on Corby’s flagship housing development.

Larkfleet Homes has apologised to the homeowners and said it is investigating.

A spokesman said it ‘had not entered into a sale of homes to Corby Borough Council in relation to Priors Hall’ but would not say whether it was in negotiations with the authority.