A housing association has announced it will carry out an investigation into buildings on an estate after the developer denied there were structural faults.

Circle 33 that there are inherent structural issues at Blackberry Court, which was built as part of the landmark Queen Mary's Gate development, off High Road, South Woodford, five years ago.

This followed a number of complaints by residents, with reports of a collapsed ceiling and mould.

At a public meeting on Friday, Bernadette Fry, assistant director for neighbourhoods at Circle 33, told residents there were “real issues” with the Blackberry Court block which should not be happening because they are new.

But developer Telford Homes said it found no structural issues during a recent investigation and blamed Circle 33 for failing to maintain the blocks.

Telford Homes group sales and marketing director, David Campbell, said: "Poor management of any building will cause difficulties for residents and we sincerely hope Circle 33 will now undertake the outstanding works necessary to resolve resident issues.”

Circle 33 has now agreed to commission an independent investigation into the maintenance issues of the buildings.

Chris Ellison, Group Regional Operations Director for Circle Housing Circle 33 said: “We are committed to resolving the issues at Queen Mary’s Gate as quickly as possible. 

"We have commissioned an independent consultant to assess the extent of the problem and we will be working closely with the developer to resolve it.  We are also working extremely hard to rectify urgent repairs issues.”