Ilkley College developers Crest Homes (Northern) Ltd has left the town abruptly after selling off its

uncompleted site for more than £30

million.

The unexpected move is surrounded with uncertainty over the completion of the site and sees the company escape responsibility for almost £1 million promised to Bradford Council coffers.

Already the company had sold off Wells House, the main college building, to Magellan, a Bradford-based company, when a resident whose

property backs on to a Crest site on Queens Road saw Crest signs being taken down and replaced with Miller Homes signs last week.

Tim Edwards, who runs Westwood Lodge, on Queens Drive, said: "Our

concern is the outstanding liabilities - they have not finished the job."

Mr Edwards said that no work on the site had been done for a while and he was worried about landscaping work at the back of his property which he said, had been promised but not completed.

"They were supposed to be doing some landscaping but they have not finished the job. I don't think they should get away with it. They should do the job properly," Mr Edwards said.

Mavis Ridsdale, who lives in Deaconess Court, Queens Drive, which also backs onto a Crest Homes building site, told the Gazette she was surprised to learn that the company had sold it off.

Following complaints about problems caused by the building work, Mrs Ridsdale and other residents of Deaconess Court met Crest Homes'

officials about a month ago but they did not mention their intention to sell out.

"It all went very quiet immediately after we had a meeting with them. There have been a few men around but nothing like it was before," said Mrs Ridsdale.

Parish council planning chairman Councillor Audrey Brand said she was also worried about the outstanding

financial commitments Crest had made to Bradford Council.

To comply with planning laws, developers of large sites have to

provide affordable housing and

playground space and equipment. If the sites are deemed not suitable, the

developer promises a cash sum to the local authority to provide the facilities elsewhere.

In Crest's case the sum to be paid when the council had found suitable sites is believed to be around £850,000.

Councillor Brand said that a new pathway from the Ilkley Moor

paddling pool to Ilkley Tarn and cash towards the planned skating park had been earmarked from a sum of around £450,000 to be paid for recreation

facilities.

But a spokesman for Ilkley's planning office said that the new owners of Crest's site would now become responsible for providing the money.

The company taking over the bulk of Crest's site at a cost of £30 million is Miller Homes, based in Edinburgh.

Sales manager Catie Evans told the Gazette: "We are aware of the fact that there is outstanding work and we will endeavour to make sure the work is completed. It is very important for us coming into Ilkley as a new company that we want to make sure that people are happy and continue to be happy. It is not going to do anybody any good if we don't deal with the problems that are outstanding."

She said that the company would be happy to hear from anyone having

problems with former Crest building sites.

A spokesman for Crest Homes said that Crest (Northern) Ltd would soon cease to exist and there could be up to 100 job losses at its Harrogate headquarters.

The spokesman said that arrangements had been made to provide

customer care in the north for customers who had already bought Crest homes. But as far as landscaping and other agreements in Ilkley were concerned, Crest believes that they have been taken over by Miller Homes.

A statement released by the company says that Crest Northern's turnover in the year to October 31, 1999, was £20.5 million from the sale of 243 houses.

The company is expected to make a loss of around one million pounds in the current year.

l FORMER student accommodation at Hillside, Crossbeck Road, which was part of the orginal package of college buildings bought by Crest, has now been acquired by BPT (Assured Homes).

Following refurbishment, it now comprises 18 two-bedroom apartments for rent at between £550 to £850 a month.

The building is a former maternity hospital and according to BPT, it is the birthplace of TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh.