Barratt Developments PLC owns three consumer brands: Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes and Barratt London, making it one of the nation’s largest house builders. The company prides itself on building “quality new homes”, and Barratt David Wilson (BDW) plans to build over 1,500 homes in six parcels at the Darwin Green estate in Cambridge.
The Darwin Green site lies two miles from Cambridge city centre and the homes planned include one and two bedroom apartments along with two to four bedroom houses, all with an electric car charging point. The development also includes a new central park, primary school, supermarket and library and sports facilities. A secondary school will be added at a later stage.
Outline planning was approved in 2013 and reserved matters applications have been submitted for each phase of development, with some already approved.
However, in September 2023, only weeks after they were built, BDW submitted plans to demolish 88 of the site’s newly-built homes owing to faulty foundations. The trench filled foundations did not allow sufficient protection against heave (see below) which caused the foundations to move. The issue was first identified when cracks appeared in the walls.
The local authority was not appointed as building control inspectors on the project; instead BDW appointed the National House Building Council (NHBC).
The value of the defective homes on the BDW site in Cambridge is estimated to be worth around £40 million, and some had already been sold to home buyers who were waiting to move in to their new homes. None of the homes with identified defective foundations had been moved into.
In the planning application for a ‘phased demolition’, the developer says it will salvage materials such as roof tiles, doors, windows, sanitaryware and kitchen equipment, wherever possible. The material derived from crushing the demolished concrete and bricks will be reused.
Remediation work will be carried out to a further 47 plots on the development that are at varying stages of construction.
Who pays for new build defects?
When you buy a newly built home the property is covered against structural and minor defects for ten years by a warranty. This warranty is covered by the developer for the first two years (the “developer’s warranty”), after which it is replaced by an insurance-backed warranty which is usually provided by the NHBC. Only structural issues are covered; minor defects and cosmetic issues (such as missing door hardware) are not covered.
What is heave?
Heave is the upward movement of the ground beneath a building as a result of soil expansion. One of the possible causes is the ground on which a building sits absorbing excessive amounts of water and expanding. The extra water might be the result of flooding or the removal of nearby trees (which retain large amounts of water when they are alive). Heave results in cracks and deformation of the foundations.
Evidence of heave are:
- Cracks in brickwork, and near doors and windows.
- Doors and windows sticking as their frames become out of place.
- Evidence of rising damp in the walls.
- External cracking reflected internally in the same area of a cavity wall.
- Crumpling of wallpaper between the wall and ceiling.
- Cracks appearing after a long period of dry weather.
- The opening and closing of existing cracks as the seasons change.
If you are experiencing problems in your home that you suspect might be heave, or have any other issues with a new build property, ask an independent Chartered Surveyor to assess the problem and help to identify a solution.