Kier Living has been appointed to complete work on a new housing scheme in St Austell, which was previously started by another contractor.

Work on the Cedar Woods project, for Devon & Cornwall Housing, stopped in October 2009 when the previous contractor went into administration. Since then it has come to light that there are a number of structural problems with the construction, and investigations have concluded that the existing buildings should be demolished.

Kier Living will soon begin the four-week demolition programme, during which demolition building materials will be separated and around 90 per cent of them will be recycled.

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Situated to the rear of Polkyth Leisure Centre on land formerly owned by Cornwall Council, Cedar Woods consists of a mixture of 19 one, two and three-bedroom houses and flats - all of which will be affordable and will be offered for rent. The project has been supported with investment from both Cornwall Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which invested around £1.5m into the scheme.

Devon & Cornwall Housing group director of investment, Richard Connolly, commented: "We worked with Cornwall Council and the previous contractor to try to prevent them entering administration. More recently we have had a number of meetings with officers at Cornwall Council to help get this project back up and running. We're pleased to confirm the appointment of Kier Living and look forward to seeing this project completed."

Cornwall Council added: "We welcome the restart to construction at the Cedar Woods scheme in St Austell. Since construction stalled in 2009, Devon & Cornwall Housing has worked in conjunction with our officers to overcome the many challenges facing the scheme and we are delighted that it is now back on track."

Kier Living is expected to complete the new homes in time for residents to move in by spring 2012.

(CD)