THE construction company working on Nationwide's £50 million eco-friendly housing development is going into administration.

The Swindon-based building society appointed Mi-space as the main contractor for the 239-home estate in February 2020 and work was well underway when the scheme suffered a major setback.

Work has stalled on the project as sub-contractors are uncertain about what will happen if Mi-space folds.

Its parent company Midas intends to appoint an administrator within the next week unless it can find an alternative financial solution to its problems first.

The construction firm turnedover more than £291 million during the last financial year but it also recorded a pre-tax loss of £2 million as feeling the impacts of Brexit, the pandemic, labour shortages and inflation of material prices all at once seems to have proven too difficult to deal with.

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A Nationwide Building Society spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of the current situation by Midas and understand that it has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator in respect of its group and its subsidiaries, including Mi-space.

"We are monitoring the situation and remain in regular contact with Mi-space as we consider our options regarding Oakfield and identify the next steps.

"Nationwide remain committed to the project and we are hopeful that work on site can resume soon.

"We’ve made some fantastic progress with Oakfield and we will work to overcome these challenges as we deliver on what will become a showcase in eco-friendly, community-centric housing, in our hometown of Swindon.”

A spokesman for Mi-space said: "We are working closely with all our stakeholders to resolve the situation."

When complete, the Oakfield Project will be one of the largest off-gas developments in the UK, with all the new homes set to be EPC-A rated.

Nationwide’s redevelopment of Walcot's former Oakfield Campus into a not-for-profit community project will include 239 new homes for sale or rent, with 71 of them designated as affordable housing.

The area which had been left levelled and vacant for more than a decade will feature a park with a children’s play area, a community meeting space and links to nearby amenities.

The Pipers Way-based building society is funding the development and has brought together experts such as Igloo Regeneration, Metworks and PRP, to build homes which are fit for the future.

The development will have a wide variety of homes, from two to four-bedroom terraced houses to smaller apartments, with 30 per cent allocated for affordable housing.

The first homes were due to be available for people to move into later this year.

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