By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
‘Hopes have been dashed’ for prospective homeowners and tenants at a new estate in Arnold after the developer went into administration just two weeks before people were due to move in.
Ilke Homes, which is based in Yorkshire, collapsed into administration in June while it was working on two major projects in Nottinghamshire.
One of these was on the site of a former school in Rolleston Drive, Arnold, where work on 131 homes had been taking place. The second involved a potential 600 homes near the Boots site in Beeston.
Deliveries of the company’s modular homes, which are built in a factory before being transported directly to the Arnold site by lorry, had started in 2022 but work has now stopped with many of the units in position.
A total of 85 homes were going to be made available for affordable rent, addressing Gedling Borough Council’s growing housing waiting list.
A Gedling councillor has now revealed ilke Homes’ collapse will have a negative impact on an “already-stretched housing waiting list”.
During Gedling Borough Council Full Council on July 12, Cllr Jenny Hollingsworth (Lab), portfolio holder for growth and regeneration, said: “Clearly the news that ilke Homes had gone into administration is hugely disappointing, not only because the much-needed delivery of affordable homes will be delayed, but also because this Labour authority fought hard to get this site developed.
“The collapse of ilke Homes was not foreseen and came less than two weeks before the first properties were due to be occupied.
“It will obviously have a negative impact on an already-stretched housing waiting list as those people who had been allocated properties will now have to be housed elsewhere.
“Rolleston Drive was due to provide 85 affordable homes. There are currently 605 live applications on the home search system, so the allocation of 85 properties would have seen the current numbers of households on the waiting list reduce by 14 per cent.
“There are individuals and families behind these figures whose hopes of moving into a new, permanent and secure home within the next few weeks have been dashed.”
The 85 affordable rent homes were due to be delivered in 11 tranches to help provide homes for those on the waiting list, at a time when applications from homeless people are rising.
The council says 567 homeless applications were received in 2018/19, before increasing to 874 in 2022/23.
As of July this year, more than 200 applications had been received and there are now concerns it will increase further.
Cllr Helen Greensmith (Con) questioned whether the council carried out any checks on the company before work started.
Cllr Hollingsworth added: “This was an arrangement between (housing association) Jigsaw Homes and ilke, funded substantially through Homes England.
“It was not an arrangement with Gedling Borough Council. We have no financial commitment or obligation. Ilke Homes, I can tell you, I visited the site and it is a good product.
“The have said the reason they had to go into administration is Government uncertainty and economic chaos.”
A spokesperson for Jigsaw Homes Group told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We are very disappointed to hear that ilke Homes has gone into administration.
“We were informed of this by the administrators on Friday afternoon, June 30, and we are now in talks with them to discuss and consider our options.”
More than 1,000 members of staff at ilke will lose their jobs.
Ilke has been contacted for comment.
