FEARS have been raised the site of a multi-million pound housing development which has seemingly ground to a halt could be used for drug dealing or prostitution.
Question marks have been raised over the future of the redevelopment of the Riverside Office Centre site, off North Station Road, Colchester, after work appears to have stopped in recent months.
Work started on transforming the site into 93 flats last year but Anna Bolton, chairman of the CO1 North Residents’ Association, says no work has been done at the site “for at least six months”.
The buildings – Fairfax House, Century House North, Century House South and Digby House – are now all exposed to the elements.
Ammcass Group is leading the project, while Convivia is the site owner.
Sources claim there has been a disagreement between the former owners of the offices and those footing the bill for the conversion, although this has not yet been confirmed.
'Colchester Council is washing its hands of the site'
Ms Bolton, who has been against the development plans since proposals first emerged, says the lack of activity is causing a health and safety risk on her doorstep.
The Causton Road resident said: “Some residents have garages that run along the perimeter of the site. The public right of way has been taken away because of fencing so people haven’t been able to use them for the last year.
“Garages have been broken into, some have been squatted in, some have been used to store stolen goods.
“I’ve seen an abandoned Transit van and hundreds of thousands of pounds of building equipment. It looks like someone’s just walked off site and turned off the light switch.”
She fears Colchester Council is “washing their hands” of the problem after failing to secure a meeting with the landowner.
Castle ward councillor Steph Nissen has visited the site and was “quite shocked by how open and accessible it is”.
“You can access the buildings so anyone could get in there and start a fire, to sell drugs, or use it for prostitution,” she warned.
“There are a lot of serious concerns and no-one seems to be taking responsibility.”
What does Colchester Council say?
An email sent by the council’s building control team to several parties and seen by the Gazette says a surveyor has visited the site and it is not classed as a dangerous structure, meaning “there is no further action to take by building control at this time”.
Colchester Council said it responded in a “positive and timely manner” to concerns raised by residents in the area, organising visits to the site by its planning enforcement, building control, and community safety teams and referring the matter to the Health and Safety Executive and the fire service.
A spokesman added: “In terms of planning, there is no actionable breach because none of the relevant conditions have been violated, and the site condition does not warrant intervention.
“It is common for developments to stall temporarily while delivery barriers are resolved. The council has worked with its partners to find viable solutions to facilitate the conversion.
“We hope that the current site owners will discuss their problems with us so we can help them to find solutions to the barriers they have encountered to delivery.”
When checked by the Gazette on Thursday, Ammcass and Convivia’s websites both said the project is expected to complete this year.
Both companies were approached for comment.
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