Five local families are still living in the Walnut Buildings estate in Radstock - left there as plans to move them into alternative accommodation while the future of the buildings was assessed - were frozen by the coronavirus pandemic.

The local housing association, the Curo Group, has confirmed to Nub News that the potential development of the flats - which need substantial renovations - are still planned - although we understand funding might be an issue.

Pre lock-down there were still five families still living in the blocks, with Curo trying to get them rehoused so that they could assess the work that needed to be undertaken on site.

They are still there, with Curo saying : " We were still trying to rehouse a small number of residents and would be considering the future of the site once they had secured vacant possession. We hope to have all residents moved out as soon as possible."

Curo's plans involve the four blocks of flats that comprise Walnut Buildings in Radstock.

In total there were 32 homes involved - part of a programme of major refurbishment and improvements, the company carried out a number of detailed surveys and inspections to understand the condition of the buildings.

In a statement to Nub News the company said: " To continue with the programme of improvements we are now carrying out structural investigations to understand in detail the full extent of work needed to refurbish Walnut Buildings. Because this requires complete access to every part of the estate, we are helping each household in Walnut Buildings to find a temporary or permanent home to move to while this work happens - following Government safety guidance around COVID-19 throughout this process.

"Of the 32 households, five residents remain at Walnut Buildings and we are working with them to find suitable new homes. We have put extensive support in place to help every resident move to a new permanent or temporary home that meets their needs.

"We are reviewing options for the future of the building as it will require a significant amount of work to bring it up to a decent standard. No decision has yet been made and we will consult with local residents and other stakeholders should any significant changes, including redevelopment, be considered."

The local councillor has told Nub News that the options open to Curo are to :

- substantially rebuild the blocks

- demolish and build a different form of housing on the site.

His preference would be to rebuild low density housing on the footprint of the existing site, rather than a similar format of large blocks.

In order to move ahead Curo would need to secure funding from Homes England, the former Homes and Communities Agency, to support any rebuild and that takes time and a convincing business case.