Liberal Democrats are "appalled" by Labour's poor judgment of construction partners impacting delivery across Ealing.

A development partner, Real Contracting Group, for the High Lane in Hanwell and Green Man Estate in West Ealing entered administration in late 2023. 

Real Contracting joins Henry Construction who went into administration in June 2023, adding to the borough's building delays across sites in Ealing.

The locations which were allocated to Henry Construction for development were: Dean Gardens and Maitland Yard, West Ealing, Chesterton Close and Evesham Close, Greenford, Norwood Road, Southall, Shackleton Road, Southall, Wood End, Northolt and Buckingham Avenue in Perivale.

Ealing Liberal Democrats say "It shows appalling decision making by the Labour administration at Ealing Council in selection of their construction partners".

"The administration is showing time and again that it is not thorough enough in assessing financial viability and due diligence of partners", said the Lib Dems. 

According to data from the Government's Insolvency Service, a total of 4,165 construction firms experienced insolvency in the 12-month period that concluded on March 31, 2023.

Factors such as high energy costs, inflation and firms repaying Covid-era loans, are attributed as to why record numbers of construction companies are falling into administration.

Paul Nicholls is the CEO of Real Contracting (credit: Paul Nicholls/Linkedin).

The Lib Dems add: "Some of those new homes will be market sale homes which are being used to offset borrowing costs by the council to fund these building projects. 

"This is during a period of high interest rates when the people of Ealing will be expected to shoulder the burden of repayment of this borrowing for longer due to these delays.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball, Opposition Spokesperson on Planning, Licensing and Housing said: "This latest company collapse shows that Labour has poor judgement in construction partner selection and the delays show they are not prioritising residents at a time of pressing need."

In response, a council spokesperson told Nub News: "This has been a challenging period for contractors across the housing sector and the council carefully monitors the position of all its contractors. 

"The council became aware of the issues relating to REAL as soon as they emerged in late 2023 and is currently working with partners to ensure the delivery of good quality homes on these sites can continue as soon as possible.

"The council is currently working on a delivery strategy for this and for the sites in administration, which will be brought forward in the coming months."

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