RESIDENTS of a fire damaged retirement complex are facing further delays as building works drag on.

Wellington Court, in Poole Road, was devastated by a fire that tore through one section of the property on December 16.

Since then, none of the 62 residents have been able to live at the home - with some being housed in a neighbouring Premier Inn.

Despite property management company FirstPort releasing a number of dates residents would be able to return to their flats, none have yet been met.

And residents will now face further disruption as the previously reported mid-March move in target has now been pushed back due to delays with the electrical contractor.

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A spokesperson for FirstPort said: “Work is continuing at pace across Wellington Court to ensure residents are back in their homes as soon as it is safe to do so.

“However, we have experienced further delays with the electricity contractor. This means that the move in date must unfortunately be pushed back to the start of April.

“The electricity work, which forms part of the development’s mains supply via the National Grid, is needed to restore electricity to the building and we cannot move residents back into the building until this work is done by the assigned energy supplier.

“We understand that this additional delay will be disappointing for our residents, and we are continuing to update and support them in any way we can. We’d also like to thank them for their continued patience, and we look forward to welcoming them back into their homes next month.”