Residents who paid up to £400K for their new build homes fear they have been cut off from their properties after landslides and poor weather have blocked cars coming in or out
Homeowners fear for their new build homes after poor weather and huge landslip have cut residents off from their own homes, unable to access them by car.
Residents in Haden Cross Drive, in Cradle Heath, West Midlands recalled that the ground above their homes first began to budge last March, when a wall gave way. Despite sandbags propping the earth up, the recent bad weather as triggered a landslide, with a massive mound of dirt now blocking the road to their cul-de-sac.
As a result, about a dozen homeowners are unable to drive their cars to or from their homes, which cost up to £400,000.
Instead, homeowners are forced to park far away and trek upto 100 metres, across their neighbours’ gardens to reach home.
The estate is owned by Dunedin Homes, yet residents have complained that no one is taking responsibility for the landslip.
Added to the issues, the five-year-old has a lack of street lighting, as despite being installed, the lights are yet to be switched on.
The problem follows that of the residents in High Haden Crescent, less than half a mile away, who also fear they will lose their homes after a massive landslide has slowly destroyed their gardens.
Engineer Reece Aleksander, 33, says living on the estate is a “nightmare.”
He said his drive – near the biggest slip – has been blocked since March. However larger slips in October and December have made it worse.
He said: Since March when the wall first broke we’ve not been able to use our driveway and I’m certainly starting to get worried about it creeping further to where our garden is – it could end up breaking our garden wall and coming into our kitchen.”
“We’ve got a one-year-old so not being able to use the drive has been a bit of a nightmare.
“Now that it’s come down fully, the parking situation has got a lot worse.”
Despite the estate being privately owned, Reece believes Sandwell Council needs to step in, but says they are not interested because it’s a private road, adding: “No one is accepting responsibility.”
Another resident, firefighter Rachael Howard, 34, who also doesn’t live in on of the 112-cut off houses said the lack of street lighting has made the problem much worse.
She said: “It’s a nightmare, especially with the lack of street lighting. It’s awful for residents – I’m looking straight at it and I just see it progressively getting worse.
“Over Christmas with all those storms we had and seeing people carrying newborns and small children past it – it’s dangerous.
Speaking to the BBC, Dunedin Homes said it understood “as the landowner that it is our responsibility, pending legal actions, to make safe the slope”
Sandwell Council said it was in “ongoing contact with the developer.”
A spokesperson said: “We completely understand their concerns. Even though the land is not owned by the council we have, however, been in ongoing contact with the developer to check what action the management company responsible for maintenance and repair is taking to rectify the problem.”