Residents at unfinished Aberdeen Stewart Milne development left in limbo

A resident at one of Stewart Milne's Aberdeen housing developments says he feels "stranded" after the company went bust.

Over 200 people were made redundant with immediate effect and administrators, Teneo say no further work will be carried out at this time.

The North East construction firm had sites across Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and North West England.

It's left many people in limbo with some homeowners awaiting repairs and others due to move into a home.

In Cove, the Charleston development currently has several incomplete homes with some believed to be reserved.

Rotney moved into his home four months ago and has been trying to contact someone about water ingress within the property - but now he feels "stranded".

He said: "We had problems after we moved in and when we tried to reach out for repairs they just went bust.

"Every time it rains or during a storm, the water leaks from the patio doors into the lounge on the carpet and it gets very wet - soaking wet - and we have to cover it with towels.

"We scheduled repair work on the 9th, so the day after Stewart Milne went bust, but we tried to reach a sale centre but all the staff got laid off. So, now we've tried to reach NHBC but it seems like a very long queue so we are very confused."

"We feel stranded, like we have no options."

"It doesn't seem like we have anyone to reach for, we also have a solar panel which is not on, it's locked with a padlock and not activated."

The road outside his home remains unfinished with residents left in the dark about when these works will resume.

He continued: "The lamppost isn't on, the road is not finished and I'm very sad for the people who have purchased the houses that are nearly completed.

"It's very sad. I paid quite a lot of money for it and now we have no support.

"We're confused - it went bust in a heartbeat and we have no explanation.

"We just got a notice that we have to reach out to the administrators from now on but they don't reply to my emails."

Administrators say buyers who have not yet moved into a property will be contacted directly.

Lynne Thomson, Labour Councillor for Kincorth, Nigg and Cove says she was "shocked" to hear the housebuilder has collapsed.

She said: "I feel very sorry for the people who have put down deposits and reserved homes and wondering what the future holds for them.

"I'm also very sorry for the workers on site, the subcontractors and the suppliers as well who are going to be impacted by this very sad demise of Stewart Milne Group - one of Scotland's best known housebuilders."

In a statement on Monday, Stewart Milne expressed his devastation at the "unexpected" outcome.

The business had been up for sale, before the bank rejected two bids leading to the appointment of administrators.

Adele MacLeod of Teneo said: “The downturn in the UK housing market combined with an extensive sales process not resulting in any viable offers has ultimately led to the need for the directors to place Stewart Milne Group Limited and some of its subsidiaries into Administration, regretfully with some immediate redundancies.

"We continue to assess all the options in respect of the group's Scottish development sites and encourage any party with an interest to get in touch.”

Residents currently living within a Stewart Milne home who require works are being urged to contact SMHomeowners@teneo.com.