Four flagship council house developments sit unfinished and empty despite hundreds of people needing new homes in the district.

In Waltham Abbey half-finished houses have been untouched since June 1, when Epping Forest District Council terminated Broadway Construction’s contract.

The decision stopped work in Harveyfields, two sites in Roundhills and one in Red Cross Hall, meaning people will wait longer for the 23 affordable properties.

In total the sites will provide four one-bedroom flats, five two-bedroom flats, six two-bedroom houses, six three-bedroom houses and two one-bedroom duplex houses.

The £3.7million project to provide the first council houses in the district for 30 years started in November 2014, when MP Eleanor Laing manned a digger and started the work.

Building on the brownfield, former garage sites was due to finish 12 months later but work was hit by delays and was not due for completion until July.

Now, with no developer – and despite an “objective need” for 11,000 new homes in the district between 2011 and 2033 – the sites sit empty apart from security guards patrolling 24-hours-a-day.

The district council claimed St Albans-based developer Broadway had not been “carrying out the works regularly and diligently, contrary to their contract obligations.”

A council spokesman said:  “There was still lots of work to do and we felt we had no further choice but to draw a line under it.

“Having terminated the contract we need to finish the build as quickly as possible to provide much needed homes for local people in need.”

However, Broadway’s managing director Steve Fry said issues with council work and agent Pellings caused the delays.

In one case, a water main pictured outside the site on a plan was found running straight through the development, and Mr Fry claimed other “client design changes and poor planning drawings” have hit progress.

He said the council did not sign a contract for three months after the work start date, with the small family business required to negotiate a property bond before any signatures were given.

Mr Fry said a number of meeting requests to discuss the issues were turned down by the council and Pellings.

“They just refused to meet us every time,” he said.

“They have been really hampering us.”

Mr Fry said his company has lost a significant amount of money because of the issues, delays and the contract termination, which he said “came as a complete shock”.

“Our legal team are preparing to fight the council as it is totally unjustified, ruthless and unsubstantiated… we feel the contract has been wrongly administered in a harsh manner, which has affected the livelihoods of many.”

Housing councillor Syd Stavrou is now appointing a new developer, likely to be Stratford-based P.A. Finlay.

The council hopes to build 315 new council homes across 10 years in partnership with the East Thames housing association, with all properties going to families on the council’s housing register.

Last year there were 1,500 people on the waiting list.

It was previously reported that the rents will be set at 80 per cent of market rates, with a cap of £180 per week reviewed annually.

In October 2015, the council revealed the need for 11,000 new homes up to 2033, but stressed the figure was not a target and could drop as negotiations are held with neighbouring areas.