Developers may be forced to finish ‘ghost estates’

BROKE developers who have abandoned unfinished housing estates will be pursued by local authorities and in some cases will be forced to give up funds to finish stalled developments.

Existing and planned laws are expected to be used by authorities to help sort out the mess left in ‘ghost estates’ after a Government survey yesterday showed there are now 2,800 incomplete developments around the country.

Government ministers insisted a range of laws along with new legislation would help clean up the half-finished estates plaguing towns and cities.