New housing sparks landslide fears in Winterbourne Down

8:30am Friday 30th July 2010

By Alexandra Womack

PEOPLE living near the Frome Valley Walkway in Winterbourne Down fear a new housing development could cause a fatal landslide.

Residents of The Dingle, Church Road and Stone Lane claim dry stone walls on the cliff face of the Frome Valley are bowing under pressure from building work on four new houses.

Duncan Porter, who has lived on Stone Lane for five years, said: "In some places trees are all that is holding things together.

"In the last few months footpaths have started subsiding and walls which have been here for 200 years are falling down. It is no coincidence that they have suddenly started collapsing."

He said the Heaton Homes development, which will be called Bury View, was a ‘very real danger’ and residents want the risk to be taken seriously.

The developers have built a large gabion wall, made up of huge mesh blocks filled with stone, on the edge of the cliff face.

"It is quite frightening," said Mr Porter. "We don’t know what foundations the gabion wall has and large rocks in the cliff face have started moving.

"A lot of people use the walkway and the footpaths, including dog walkers and horseriders, and there is an 80foot drop to the river.

"If things start giving way there will be major problems. There is a very real danger that somebody could die."

One resident, who lives next to the site and asked not to be named, said: "Our main concern is a landslide.

South Gloucestershire Council has ordered the closure of a footpath closest to the development and residents now want to know what else is being done to ensure the building work is adhering to safety standards.

A council spokesman said: "The council gave planning permission to Heaton Homes for the development of land at Stone Lane three years ago. Since then the developer has carried out works on the site and has chosen to put the building regulations for this work through the National House-Building Council (NHBC).

"Therefore the council is not responsible for overseeing the work on site, however, we are in contact with the developers and will encourage them to address local residents’ concerns.

"The council has temporarily closed a section of footpath below the site as a precautionary measure after an examination of some dry stone retaining walls. The council is currently in discussions with Heaton Homes regarding the ownership of these walls."