Work has halted on a £20 million luxury development in west Leicestershire.
Springbourne Homes has joined the list of construction firms across England that have downed tools in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The business, based in Nuneaton has suspend work at its Hornsey Rise site, near Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, until the Covid-19 outbreak has subsided.
The 19 luxury homes are being built on the 10 acre site of the former Hornsey Rise care home in the countryside at Wellsborough, which closed in 2012.
Adrian Burr, chairman of Springbourne Homes in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, made the move on Tuesday morning despite construction firms being exempt from the Prime Minister’s national lockdown.
Some firms have angered workers by continuing with their building site work.
Mr Burr said: “As soon as I watched the Prime Minister’s broadcast to the nation on Monday evening, I knew I needed to act for the good of my staff, my sub-contractors, my suppliers and for the wider community.
“We could have carried on working but, in these unprecedented times, I felt it would have been socially irresponsible to do so.
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“I was not prepared to take any risks with the safety of my team, some of whom have been with me for more than 20 years, as I know how difficult it is to maintain a two metre separation between workers on a busy, building site.
“Part of me is frustrated because this is an exceptional site which will be the pinnacle of more than 25 years of building in the area.
“Work on phase one of the development has been going very well and we were close to opening a show home and putting the first ten homes up for sale.
“However, in times like these, priorities must come before profit and the most important thing now is for us all to act responsibly to defeat this virus and get back to normality as soon as we can.”
A new access road at the site has already been created, with drainage and utility services put in, and the footings and foundations for the first phase of the development have been completed.
Teams of brick-layers and craftsmen had been on site turning the plans for the architect-designed three, four and five bedroom homes into reality.
Mr Burr has said the Wellsborough project will be the finest development in the company’s 26 year history.