AN entire new-build estate faces being demolished over a seemingly simple planning blunder.
All 263 homes on the Coppenhall Place development in Crewe, Cheshire, could be torn down because they were built on potentially contaminated land.
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Residents fear their properties could be worthless and that bulldozers will be brought in.
Tamzin Caiger, 35, who lives on the estate with her wife Rachel, 36, and their eight-year-old son, told MailOnline: “It is really upsetting.
“I feel like we don’t really know what is going on.”
Car finance company manager David Andrews, 50, who lives with partner Laura Curtis, 37, added: “If it is not sorted out, and the houses have to come down, what will happen to us?”
The estate was constructed on a former Bombardier train factory site where asbestos, lead, cyanide and arsenic residue have been found.
The developers insist the correct checks were done and the council says there is no danger to human health, but locals are furious.
One pensioner said: “We are worried that it will devalue our property.
“It could be worthless if it is not sorted out.”
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Countryside Partnerships got the green light to build 239 three and four-bedroom houses and 24 flats on the 17-acre brownfield site in December 2018.
But delays caused by Covid meant construction wasn’t completed within the required three years so bosses had to reapply for permission – despite most of the homes having already been sold.
The local authority later questioned how thorough the checks were on the land before and during the project.
Countryside Partnerships and its consultants have insisted that proper assessments were carried out.
A spokesperson said: “We have been aware of the outstanding planning condition and have consulted and been working with both council officers and the Environmental Protection department to address it, submitting a retrospective planning application that was recommended for approval.
“Our priority is to resolve this issue for our residents and customers.
“We acknowledge the Planning Committee’s comments and will work with all necessary bodies with a view to achieving full planning approval for this site as quickly as possible.”
Cheshire East Council declined to comment.
What will the New Homes Ombudsman Service be able to do?
IF you have issues with your new-build home, the New Homes Ombudsman Service will be able to help.
The watchdog will hold developers to account and require them to put matters right with new powers including:
- Adjudicating on complaints and upholding standards set out in a Code of Practice
- Awarding up to £50,000 in compensation to home buyers
- Forcing developers to undertake or refrain from undertaking work
- Telling developers to improve their service
- Publishing details and reasons for expulsion of developers
- Making recommendations on timescales to resolve disputes
- Making developers apologise and explain
