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Abbeyfield Society gives update on stalled £10m Plymouth apartment block
The troubled company behind the huge stalled block of flats on Plymouth’s waterfront has said it is still trying to find a way of completing the £10m building. The charitable Abbeyfield Society said it has been in talks with Plymouth City Council and Homes England and is making finishing the Mayflower Court retirement development at Millbay “a priority”..
No work has been carried out on the 83-bedroom scheme since mid 2020 and the immense building is still covered in scaffolding. Last year Abbeyfield admitted the project’s future is in serious doubt after writing off the entire £10.3m cost.
Today it revealed it is trying to claw back cash from administrators dealing with WRW Construction, which had been building Mayflower Court but went bust in 2021 leaving work unfinished. But the administrators’ most recent progress report, in February, said there was only likely to be just over £100,000 available for unsecured creditors with claims so far amounting to £25m.
Abbeyfield made a £15m loss last year and is consulting on the closure of three Plymouth residential homes, among 43 nationally which are under threat. In 2022 it said mounting construction costs turned Mayflower Court into a mammoth financial risk and the cost of the scheme was written off in the society’s accounts and blamed for contributing to overall losses.
But today the charity told PlymouthLive it had not given up hope of restarting the project and was even making it a priority. An Abbeyfield spokesperson said: “Since the contractor for the original construction of Mayflower Court in Millbay entered administration in 2021, Abbeyfield has been continuously and actively exploring ways of bringing the project to completion.
“Having registered a claim with the administrators against the contractor, and mitigated delays and effects arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, Abbeyfield is exploring all available options with the support of both Plymouth City Council and Homes England. Finding a way to complete this project remains a priority for Abbeyfield and the other stakeholders involved.”
The Millbay apartment building – which was supposed to contain a cinema, bar, and a community café – was planned to be ready by mid-2020 but activity stopped when the Covid pandemic began and never restarted. In 2021 the company engaged to oversee the project, Wales-headquartered WRW Construction, went into administration.
Last year Jenny Lawrence, chairperson of the Abbeyfield Society, wrote in the firm’s annual report that the Mayflower Court project had been hit by inflation which had created a high degree of financial risk. She said the uncertain state of the construction industry meant the scheme is in “some doubt”, hence the decision to write-off the cost.
Mayflower Court was expected to create 150 full- and part-time jobs when completed. The Extra Care Scheme was planned to offer tailor-made care packages to residents aged 55-plus, enabling them to live independently as singles and couples, with additional care available 24/7 where required.
Last year Abbeyfield revealed occupancy at its buildings fell from 83% in 2020/21 to 80% in 2021/22, causing a £1.9m dip in income. This year it has looked at shutting some of its homes including those in Plymstock, Hartley and Ivybridge, where about 36 people, many in their 80s and 90s, live.
The homes are now under consultation and a campaign has started in Plymouth to keep them open. Abbeyfield said it is considering the closures after being stung with investment costs to bring homes up to modern standards and financial issues including high inflation.
It stressed the consultation may not result in the Plymouth homes’ closure but a spokesperson said: “It is with regret that we have made the difficult decision to begin consulting on the closure of two sheltered houses in Plymouth and one in Ivybridge.”
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