The former leader of Southampton City Council has hailed an ‘important development’ in the Bargate Quarter Scheme.

This comes after work on the £132m project – comprising of 519 new homes – resumed on Monday (March 3) following construction being halted for eight months.

The project’s main contractor, Henry Construction Projects, filed for administration in June 2023 after being required to pay a £234,000 fine when a demolition worker at another construction site fell from a platform, resulting in serious injuries.

READ MORE: Bargate Quarter scheme in Southampton finally restarts

Conservative councillor, Daniel Fitzhenry was leader of Southampton City Council when the Bargate Quarter scheme began in February 2022.

He told the Echo: "It’s great to hear work will resume on the Bargate development again.

“When we ran the council, we were fully supportive of the project and worked with Tellon Capital and L&G to start work on building the site out.”

He added: “I hope this important development can now get underway again and deliver new homes and jobs for our city.”