Extra costs of £2.7m for Sheffield council on problem-hit new homes scheme
Project was set back by 11 months because of mistake over water main
Problems on a council house-building site in Sheffield have caused costs to increase by £2.7m.
Sheffield City Council is building 77 new council homes at Newstead, off Birley Moor Road in Birley.
The council’s finance and performance policy committee (October 19) approved a budget increase of £2,234,400 after the scheme ran into trouble.
Work started in November 2024 on a £21,882,300 scheme to build 41 houses, ranging from two to four bedrooms, and 36 one and two-bedroom apartments.
The original completion date was in July but that has now been pushed back to June 2027.
Councillor Jack Byrom said: “If this was in the private sector, whoever was responsible for that would be dragged in front of the boardroom to answer what’s gone wrong and, if they’ve still got a job at the end of it, to implement the lessons learned.”
A project officer explained that maps showed a water main along the southern boundary.
However, when groundworks began for the apartments, the pipe’s location was in a different place, in the way of the footings.
The council had to work with Severn Trent Water to find a diversion route which caused 15 weeks of hold-ups.
The scheme has also run into delays over negotiations with Northern Powergrid to build a new electricity sub-station.
The officer said the main lesson learned was that the project was designed in-house and delivered by Peak Architects, rather than the council seeking a full design and build contract.
Although this cut costs initially, it meant that the financial risks sat with the council, not the contractor.
A £1.3m contingency built into the budget has absorbed part of the overspend.
The £2.23m budget increase includes an additional contingency of £814,000.