Work halted at half-built flats

One of the UK's biggest housing developers has halted work on a half built block of flats in Cardiff Bay because of the credit crunch.

Bellway Homes is aiming to build 900 apartments in the area as part of the Prospect Place development by 2010.

But it has temporarily stopped building a 17-storey building at the sixth floor because it says there is currently a lack of demand among buyers.

The company insisted it will resume the work as soon as sales pick up.

Billie Oaten, sales director for Bellway Homes Wales, said: "We have experienced a recent decline in apartment sales in the Cardiff Bay area, as have many other house builders.

"Some buyers are experiencing difficulties securing a mortgage in the current climate, which appears to be the main cause of the slowdown.

"As a result, we have temporarily paused work on the latest apartment block at Prospect Place. However, residents can rest assured that work will resume again as soon as sales pick up once more, which we remain confident that they will do.

He added that in the last two weeks the company has begun work on two new sites - Gelli Redyn in Fforestfach, Swansea, a mixture of apartments and houses, and Potters' Mews in Rumney, Cardiff, which is a development of apartments.

In December, Bellway reported a 7% fall in reservations for new houses for the four months to 30 November, saying that consumers were less confident about the economic outlook.

The company, which now employs 2,000 people in its 18 regional offices, has built more than 100,000 homes since founded in 1946.

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