Update on Highways Work at Copper Brook, Helsby

We hope this message finds you well.

Since our last update in December, we have been diligently working on progressing the Highways Work at Copper Brook, Helsby. Our eight week February update with the latest developments is below:

• Current position: At this stage, we are unable to commit to a timeframe for when the Highways work can start. This delay is due to our ongoing wait for the draft agreements from the Highways Department. However, we have had several positive meetings with them to move this forward.
• Approval progress: The Highways department has recently signed off the drawing pack for the work, and this is now with the their legal team to produce the wording to include in the draft agreement. We are persistently chasing for updates on this matter and are committed to seeing this through.
• Commitment to Adoption: The Highways Department has assured us they are committed to getting the roads adopted as soon as possible.
• Road tidy-up: We have arranged for our Environmental Services team to complete a tidy-up of the roads, as mentioned in our previous up date, from around Friday 14 February. This will be funded by Riverside as a goodwill gesture. Our Home Ownership Officer, Debbie Mellor, will be overseeing this work.

We understand the inconvenience this delay is causing and want to reassure you that we are committed to resolving this matter as quickly as possible. Thank you once again for your patient and understanding.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email [email protected]

Dear Residents,

Since our last update in October, we have been diligently working on progressing the Highways Works at Copper Brook, Helsby.

Currently, we are awaiting approval from the Highways department at Cheshire West & Cheshire Council for the drawings we submitted regarding the Section 38 Adoptions. Once approved, the Highways department will begin the legal process to prepare the draft adoption agreement. This agreement will provide us with a clearer understanding of the scope of works, allowing us to appoint a contractor to complete the Highways.

We are pleased to inform you that Cheshire West & Cheshire Council has invited us to a meeting on the 10th of December to go over the plans. Our project team is in regular contact with Cheshire West & Cheshire Council to expedite this approval process and hopes to provide a more definitive start date for the highway works soon.

In the meantime, we are working with our Environmental Services team to organize a general tidy-up of the roads within the development, which will be funded by Riverside as a goodwill gesture. Our Home Ownership Officer, Debbie Mellor is planning a site visit with them in the next couple of weeks to identify and arrange this work.

We understand the inconvenience this delay is causing and want to assure you that we are committed to resolving this matter as quickly as possible. Thank you once again for your understanding. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email [email protected].

Dear Residents,

We understand and share your frustration regarding the delays in completing the highways at Copper Brook. The situation has been challenging, especially following the administration of Lane End Developments Construction Ltd. This has left us with two significant tasks: the Section 104 drainage adoption works and the Section 38 highway works.

The Section 104 works are now in the maintenance phase, having received the provisional certificate from United Utilities. However, the Section 38 highway works are still pending. We are currently awaiting the draft drawings to be agreed upon by Highways. Once we have these, we will have a clearer picture of the associated costs and scope of work, allowing us to instruct a contractor to proceed.

Progress is being made behind the scenes, even though it may not be visible. While we cannot commit to a specific timeline until the Section 38 is finalized and approved, we are working diligently to expedite this process. We hope to provide a more definitive start date for the highway works once we receive the necessary approvals.

We deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these complexities. Please rest assured that we are committed to completing these works as swiftly as possible and will keep you updated on any significant developments.

Thank you for your continued support.

We hope this message finds you well. As part of our commitment to keeping you informed, we have agreed to provide regular updates every 8 weeks on the progress of the ongoing works at Copper Brook, Helsby. We understand that this process is taking some time, and we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Since our last update in July, there are no new developments to report. However, we continue to work diligently on the ongoing efforts:

• We are actively liaising with Cheshire West & Chester Council to finalise the details required to commence roadworks. While this process may seem lengthy, it is crucial to ensure all aspects are thoroughly addressed. Once the Highways team has agreed on the specifics, we aim to start the works on site.
• We are in the process of procuring a contractor to carry out the highways works.
• Our legal team is diligently working to ensure all legal obligations from the original contractor are met.

We understand the frustration and inconvenience caused by these delays. Please rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to expedite this process and bring the project to completion as swiftly as possible.

Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Dear resident

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to provide an update on the progress of work to complete the roads and drains at Copper Brook. We understand that living with unfinished roads and drains has been challenging and this process has been lengthy. We do appreciate your patience and understanding while we work diligently to resolve these matters.

As you may recall, our building contractor, Lane End Developments Construction Ltd, went into administration last year. Since then, Riverside has taken over the management of the outstanding work, including the Section 38 road works (Highways England) and the Section 104 works (drainage), which was transferred to us as these were unadopted when Lane End went into administration.

We are pleased to inform you that the manhole and sewer remedial works have been completed on the estate and have now been signed off by United Utilities. We have received the provisional Maintenance Certificate, which means the drains will be formally adopted in one year, once the maintenance period has ended.

This progress allows us to move forward with the highways. We are currently in communication with Highways England to progress this. We are now working with the Highways team on the road requirements, and we are in the process of procuring a contractor who will complete the highways works. Discussions with our legal team are ongoing to ensure that all the legal obligations required by the original contractor are in place.

We understand that some residents have expressed a need for more regular updates. In response to this feedback, we will be changing the way we communicate. Future updates will be published on our website every eight weeks and we will send a text alert to let you know the update is published.  Please see web address below or scan the QR code. We have included all previous updates on the web page (for ease of reference) and we hope that this change will keep you better informed about the progress of the work.

We understand the frustration and inconvenience caused by the delay and we are committed to resolving this matter as quickly as possible.  We want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to expedite this process.

Thank you once again for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email [email protected]

Re: Latest update on work required to complete your development

I wrote to you in October, to you give you an update on the work required to complete the roads and footpaths where you live and to get them adopted by the local council.

I appreciate the progress to complete this work may seem to be taking time, but I can reassure you we are working as fast as possible with the relevant organisations to resolve this matter.

I can let you know we have:

• undertaken the relevant surveys for the roads to be complete and this information has been shared with the Highways Department
• met with the council on site to review the road name sign location and specification. As soon as we have the council’s approval, we can start the signage installation
• completed an historical audit of the development to check the previous contractor’s information and we have provided updated documents to the Highways Department.

The current position is:

• we are now working with the Highways team and United Utilities on the sewer and road requirements, so we can progress this work
• we are aiming to appoint one contractor to undertake all the work and we are starting the procurement process for this
• we are also working with our legal team to ensure that all the legal obligations required by the original contractor are in place. This can be a time-consuming process, but it an important step to ensure we can complete the development.

I hope this update helps explains the work required to complete the development and I would like to thank you for your continued patience and understanding. I know this is not an ideal situation and I can only apologise once again for any inconvenience this is causing.

I promise to keep in touch with you, and I will let you know as soon as I have more information on dates for when signage, sewer and road work can start. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please email us.

Re: Update on the work to complete the roads where you live

I promised to provide you with an update on the work to complete the roads and footpaths at your development.

Firstly, I want to thank you for your continued patience and understanding while we resolve this matter.

Since completing the temporary works to make the footpaths and roads safe for everyone, I can let you know:

• We are undertaking the relevant surveys for the Highways Department, this is a requirement from the local authority so the roads can be completed.
• We are progressing the road name signs. There are six signs in total and once the council has approved our specification, we can then start the signage installation
• Our consultants are also reviewing the historical information of the development from the original contractor, this is to ensure everything is correct and is necessary to allow for further consultation with Highways Department.

I hope this letter has helped to keep you updated on the progress of work to complete the roads. I can only apologise once again for the delay and the inconvenience of living on an unfinished development and I want to reassure you we are working as quickly as possible to resolve the matter.

I will be in touch as soon as possible with a further update. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please email us.

Re: Completion of the roads at your development

Following on from our letter on 2^nd June, I’m writing to give you a further update on the completion of the unfinished roads where you live.

As we previously advised, the building contractor, Lane End Developments Construction Ltd, recently went into administration. This means Riverside has now taken over the management of the road works on your development, so that they can be adopted by the local authority.

Our specialist consultants are currently in ongoing negotiations with United Utilities and Highways to understand the details of their requirements. As soon as we are in a position to appoint a contractor to undertake the works, we will let you know.

In the meantime, we have completed the necessary works to the roads and footpaths to ensure they are safe for everyone. This work has included re-surfacing some of the footpaths and carriageways, repairing kerbs and installing ramps where necessary, as well as some general maintenance work. We hope these temporary works have been completed to your satisfaction, but if not please get in touch.

Once again, we apologise for the delay and the inconvenience of living with unfinished roads, we continue to work as quickly as possible to resolve this matter.

We will send you a further progress update on negotiations with the Local Authority in around eight weeks or sooner if we have something to say, such as a planned date for the work to start and how long it will take.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please email us.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to resolve this matter.

Re: Completion of the roads at your development

I’m writing to give you an update on the completion of the unfinished roads where you live.

As you may know, the building contractor, Lane End Developments Construction Ltd, recently went into administration. This means Riverside has now taken over the management of the road works on your development, so that they can be adopted by the local authority.

For information, before Lane End Developments Construction Ltd went into administration, they had significantly progressed the negotiations with Cheshire West and Chester Councils’ highways department. This was to identify and agree what road works were needed for the roads to be adopted.  Riverside has now appointed a specialist consultant to finalise the negotiations with the local authority. We will then be able to instruct a contractor to undertake the works to bring the roads to an adoptable standard for the authority.

We can only apologise for the delay and the inconvenience of living with unfinished roads, and we want to reassure you we are working as quickly as possible to resolve this matter. In the meantime, we have undertaken a Health & Safety inspection on the roads and pavements and have instructed work to be undertaken to make temporary improvements where required. These works are scheduled to commence in early June.

We will send you a progress update on negotiations with the Local Authority in around eight weeks or sooner if we have something to say, such as a planned date for the work to start and how long it will take.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please email us.

Finally, I would like to say thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to resolve this matter.