Homeowners in a newbuild estate have been cut off from their properties for months following a massive landslip and live in ‘constant fear of something else happening’.
Residents in Haden Cross Drive, in Cradley Heath, West Midlands, have been living a landslip-related nightmare since March last year when a wall gave way.
Now many of the locals have been left unable to reach their own driveways by car after the recent bad weather caused tons of earth to slide down and block the cul-de-sac.
This has forced around a dozen homeowners to park their cars away from their £400,00 houses and trapse up to 100 metres through their neighbours’ gardens.
But that is the least of their concerns, with some now worried their homes could be soon be consumed by the next mudslide.
The estate is privately owned by Dunedin Homes but residents claim no one is taking responsibility for the landslip.
And the problem has been made worse by a lack of street lighting on the almost five-year-old estate which despite being installed has yet to be turned on.
It comes after residents in nearby High Haden Crescent – less than half a mile away – have been left in fear of losing their homes after a giant landslide began slowly destroying their gardens
Damaged caused to a road in Hadden Cross Drive in Cradley Heath by a landslip. Residents have been living a landslip-related nightmare since March last year when a wall gave way
Reece Aleksander (pictured), 33, an engineer says living on the estate is a ‘nightmare’. He said his drive – near the biggest slip – has been blocked since March
Many of the locals have been left unable to reach their own driveways by car after the recent bad weather caused tons of earth to slide down and block the cul-de-sac
The closed road means residents have park away from their homes and trapse up to 100 metres through their neighbours’ gardens
Reece Aleksander, 33, an engineer says living on the estate is a ‘nightmare’.
He said his drive – near the biggest slip – has been blocked since March.
But larger slips in October led the road to be totally cut off and a further landslide in December 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.
‘The road has been blocked since October and it’s slowly made its way across the road and the path.
‘There are 12 houses up past the landslide that can’t park near their house and have to park further away.
Firefighter Rachael Howard (pictured), 34, said the lack of street lighting has made the problem much worse.
Many residents are worried their homes could be soon be consumed by the next mudslide
Ms Howard said: ‘It’s getting worse and worse that now it’s on the pavements. Are the pavements going to have to be closed? I think they should be, even today bits are just falling down all the time’
‘I think we’re one of the lucky ones and as it’s only coming onto our drive we are lucky we can park outside our house on the street but every time we walk out the front door there’s a big pile of mud which isn’t great to look at.’
Mr Alexander added that residents’ of houses that are completely blocked off have to walk across people’s front gardens to get to their houses.
Despite the estate being privately owned, Mr Alexsander believes Sandwell Council needs to step in.
He claimed: the council wasn’t interested because ‘it’s a private road’.
The engineer added: ‘The road and the land that has come down is owned by the developers and the wall that was there before was built by another company.
‘No one is accepting responsibility.
‘People don’t want to live in constant fear of something happening.’
Another resident, firefighter Rachael Howard, 34, said the lack of street lighting has made the problem much worse.
The landowner, Dunedin Haden Cross, say the problem was first reported to them in March 2024. They have apologised to residents for disruption, which they say is not of their making
She said: ‘I’m not in one of the 12 houses that can’t get access at the moment but we’re letting one of the neighbours use part of our driveway and other people are parking outside of the house all the time.
‘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.
‘It’s getting worse and worse that now it’s on the pavements. Are the pavements going to have to be closed? I think they should be, even today bits are just falling down all the time.
‘The temporary measure with the sandbags was exactly that, temporary, as that’s now given way.’
Ms Howard said the situation has been left for ‘far too long’ to establish responsibility.
She said: ‘The developers paid someone else to build the wall around it before it broke so it’s been left and left for far too long to establish who’s responsible.’
Many of the locals have been left unable to reach their own driveways by car after the recent bad weather caused tons of earth to slide down and block the cul-de-sac
The estate is privately owned by Dunedin Homes but residents claim no one is taking responsibility for the landslip
Developer Dunedin Homes have been approached for comment.
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’.
They added that this work began in December, but was suspended when tips closed for Christmas.
The developer apologised to residents for disruption, which they say is not of their making.
The landowner, Dunedin Haden Cross, say the problem was first reported to them in March 2024.
In a statement they said: ‘Since then we have been working closely with those who completed the original design for the slope’s stability, and installed a wall to try to understand the cause of the slippage.’
‘Dunedin Haden Cross do not accept any liability for the slope failure and in the matter of costs and liability the insurers and loss adjusters have been notified and our solicitors are closely monitoring all correspondence,’ it said.
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.’
