Frustration over half-finished housing

Construction of the homes was halted in February

Residents living near a half-finished housing development have been left frustrated after learning the company building it has gone into liquidation.

Tricas Construction was employed by Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing to build 13 houses off Racecourse Crescent in Shrewsbury.

But work stopped in February when Tricas went out of business and one resident told BBC Radio Shropshire it was "very disconcerting".

David Vasmer, the Shropshire councillor for the area, said: "It's not good enough, it's certainly housing which is needed in the area."

Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing, also known as STAR, said it was disappointed at the liquidation of Tricas and had tried to support it beforehand.

Legal issues were being addressed and efforts were under way to find a new contractor to finish the project, a spokesperson added.

The resident who spoke out about the housing did not want to give her name, but said: "It's a bit of a mess, so we'll just be glad to see it all finished."

Another resident said he was concerned about the safety of the site.

STAR had employed Tricas to build 13 homes

Mr Vasmer, a Liberal Democrat on the Conservative-run authority, said he was first aware something was wrong when "suddenly we saw that building work had stopped".

He said STAR told him work would start again at some point in the future.

He added: "This is a very disappointing situation and I hope that it can get resolved as soon as possible."

Safety measures were put in place at the site and work should be finished, once the new contractor was secured, by spring next year, the STAR spokesperson said.