ClwydAlyn “confident” Deeside affordable homes scheme will proceed despite construction firm collapse

A North Wales housing association has said it is confident in delivering a multi-million-pound affordable housing development in Deeside despite the main construction firm going into administration.

Lane End Developments Ltd, a Warrington-based housebuilder in administrators earlier this month.

The builder was working with ClwydAlyn on the 100-home project in Garden City, part of the Northern Gateway development, and was also involved in another ClwydAlyn scheme in Llandudno.

The Northern Gateway development includes two, three, and four-bedroom homes, and has been backed by Flintshire County Council and the Welsh Government.

In June last year, ClwydAlyn announced that construction work had got underway on the project, which sits on land next to Farm Road in Garden City.

Despite initial groundwork having been carried out on the site, very little construction work appears to have taken place.

Earlier this month, Lane End Developments confirmed the appointment of administrators Jeremy Woodside and Frank Ofonagoro of Quantuma Advisory Limited via a statement on its website.

It added: “The affairs, business, and property of Lane End are managed by the Joint Administrators, who act as agents of the company and contract without personal liability.”

Craig Sparrow, ClwydAlyn Executive Director of Development, said:

“Our thoughts are with the staff at Lane End during this challenging time, and we are hopeful that a solution can be found to secure the future of the business.”

“We are monitoring the situation, and we have meetings planned with the administrators over the next couple of weeks.”

“The two sites we have in development with Lane End are Builder Street in Llandudno and Northern Gateway in Deeside.”

“Both sites are in the very early stages of development, and we are confident that we will still be able to deliver these much-needed homes.”

Lane End Developments Construction Ltd had also submitted an application to build 130 homes on land off Liverpool Road in Ewloe, which was rejected by Flintshire County Council planners in October 2022.

In February, Lane End confirmed that negotiations were taking place to restructure the business and that due diligence was ongoing.

Construction Director Mick Cunningham commented at the time that Lane End Group remained active and viable, and that new investors were entering the final stages of negotiations and due diligence to secure a successful share purchase.