THE builders of a development in Sodbury which was described by residents as ‘shambolic’ have now started to repair some of the big problems on the site.

Homes were finished by Bloor on the Barnhill development next to Waitrose in Chipping Sodbury in 2016.

There are more than 100 houses there and around 40 of them were covered in cladding planks.

Residents grew concerned for their safety earlier this year when some of the larger pieces of this cladding began loosening and falling off buildings.

One resident, Rob Williams, showed the Gazette correspondence between himself and Bloor that notified them of this problem in January last year.

He was so concerned with the state of the cladding on his home that he paid for a surveyor to come and provide an independent report on the issue.

“If it was not so serious then it would actually be laughable,” Rob said earlier this year.

“It is only a matter of time before this cladding causes damage, injury or worse.”

Bloor sent contractors to come and secure the cladding earlier this year but their equipment meant that they could not reach some of the highest points on the development, the points that would be the most dangerous were cladding to fall off.

Now though, nearly two years after they received Rob’s original complaints, work has started on replacing the cladding on the homes properly.

Whilst residents are pleased the work is being done, a large number have been left with no answers as to when work will start on their homes.

New resident Anna Blaber moved on to the site in May.

She was not expecting there to be any issues after she moved in to her £375,000 home.

“My husband died three years ago and I feel like I have moved in to a property that is plagued with issues,” Anna explained.

“I fell in love with the house and was really looking forward to moving here because it is a really nice development.

“I have contacted them asking when work will be done on my house but we have had no answers and that is the frustrating thing.

“We just want clarification on when things are happening, all we really need is more information.”

Another resident, Vivian, who lives next door to Rob, also has cladding on her house.

“It is really good that they are finally starting to deal with the cladding issue,” Vivian said.

A spokesperson for Bloor Homes said: “ Whilst dealing with an instance of cladding which had become loose on an individual property at its Barnhill development, Bloor Homes became aware that the cladding on a selected number of properties at the development had been fitted with untreated timber.

“Untreated timber does not have the longevity of treated timber, nor is it as waterproof.

“This is an aesthetic addition to our properties, not a structural necessity, and therefore poses no fire-risk.

“We can confirm that work is underway to remove and replace all of the timber and cladding on the affected properties.

“We have been in contact with the customers whose homes will need these replacements, and they are fully aware of the situation.

“We expect this to take some three to four months to complete weather permitting.”

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