The city’s building industry is breathing a sigh of relief following news that work has resumed on its largest construction site.

Work had ground to a halt on the 539-room student hall opposite the historic city wall after main contractor Cardy Construction filed for administration.

Shockwaves had reverberated through the industry as word spread the city’s biggest construction firm had hit financial disaster.

Doubt was cast over large-scale developments in the district – including the five-floor student digs on Rhodaus Town.

But Canbury Holdings, the firm behind the scheme, has thrashed out a deal with administrators to see work completed on time, the Gazette can reveal.

Canbury has formed a new company, Canbury Construction, to finish the building by September next year.

Guy Hollaway, the award-winning architect who has designed the building, says original workers, sub-contractors and managers working on the site will be re-employed.

“This is a key project for us as a practice within the historic city centre,” said Mr Hollaway. “I think this is a demonstration of the commitment of the client to this project and to the city.”

Cardy, founded in 1946, filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators last month triggering widespread dismay.

Its biggest ongoing project in the city was the student accommodation and to date a partial framework is visible.

Mr Hollaway confirmed work now continues with the original completion target in sight.

“High quality purpose-built student accommodation in the city can reduce problems associated with high-density of housing in multiple occupation (HMO), where we find large groups of student housing dominating residential areas,” he said.

“If we can relieve the pressure on these residential areas then these HMO properties have the potential to come back into much-needed private residential housing within the city and in turn reduce the pressure to build new housing on green belt land.”

Cardy’s fall comes despite boosting turnover by more than £25 million to £67.6 million in the year to March 2015, helped by contracts with Rolls-Royce and BMW. In its latest accounts, it said it had an order book worth £60 million.

Directors last week broke their silence to say the firm’s cash crisis was beyond their control.

“Delayed starts to a number of significant projects, combined with complications in recovering sums rightfully owed to the company on completed projects, put the company under cash flow pressure,” they said.

“The company has exhausted options in sourcing alternative long-term investment and refinancing needed for the business to continue.”

Cardy, which also has offices in Sandwich and Heathrow,
has grown turnover by more than £60 million in the last 22 years.

Its forthcoming administration comes as output in the construction sector slumped in the run-up to the EU referendum, down 2.1% in May compared to a month earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Housing construction fell
3.2% during the same period, falling in every month this year except February.