Families organised a street party to celebrate moving into a housing estate in March that suffered a catalogue of problems that put the moving date back by 18 months.
There were bouncy castles, food and fun at the 52-home Gaul Road estate as a way of saying thank you to everybody who helped people complete the Sanctuary Housing estate.
Councillor Jan French and Councillor Kit Owen, who along with Councillor Rob Skoulding backed campaigners in the fight to get the homes finished, joined the day.
Cllr French said: “There is a real sense of community spirit down there. It was a long time coming but residents are pleased with the houses they are in.”
Tina Thompson, who led a residents campaign, said: “We arranged it as a way of getting all the families together but also as a way of saying thank you to everybody who helped to make it possible.”
“It was a massive relief when everybody moved in.”
A cake was baked for the occasion by councillor Kim French, deputy mayor.
Developers were plagued with problems from the offset with issues including sorting out contractors, legal agreement issues, drainage plan approvals, a tipper lorry crashing into a property and then white goods stolen from a container on site just weeks before tenants were supposed to move in.
A total of 39 of the original 52 families moved.
The other 14 families, who dropped out as they could no longer wait for the homes to become available, have been filled.
During the build, in an unprecedented move, Sanctuary Housing took direct control over the project’s sub-contractors Langwith to instil a sense of “urgency” into the project.
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