A community has warned Caerphilly County Borough Council that people risk being hurt or even killed if responsibility isn’t taken for a collapsed wall in Abertridwr.
Aber Valley Community Council recently passed a motion calling for action from council officers regarding the wall on the road leading to St Annes Gardens, which collapsed in August 2016.
Since then, the wall has remained unrepaired, and despite inspections conducted by the county borough council, residents fear further collapse is likely.
A motion from Aber Valley Community Council has called on Caerphilly County Borough Council to take responsibility for ensuring the safety of road users.
The motion reads: “The highway retaining wall in St Annes Gardens, part of which collapsed over a year ago, is in a dangerous and deteriorating condition because parts of it are leaning outwards over the pavement below.
“Caerphilly County Borough Council claims to be monitoring its condition but, because of the bushes which overhang the top of the wall, it is impossible to gauge how much it is leaning at its highest.
“This [community] council believes that Caerphilly County Borough Council has the responsibility for ensuring the safety of those who use the road and we fear that the wall will collapse and that when it does it could kill, and or injure, road users.
“This council therefore calls on Caerphilly County Borough Council to make the safety of the wall an urgent priority and make it safe before the wall collapses further.”
Following the collapse, affected homeowners were sent letters from Caerphilly County Borough Council, stating they were required to repair the leaning wall, estimated to cost up to £15,000, or face further action. However, residents have voiced their dissatisfaction with responsibility being placed on them.
The wall is believed to affect up to as many as ten homes in St Annes Gardens, and the residents – who have formed a group – have previously sought legal advice in an attempt to reach a suitable outcome.
Councillor John Roberts of the Aber Valley ward said: “It has been a long time since the wall collapsed, and there seems to have been no movement [from Caerphilly Council]. My colleagues and I have been in contact with officers who tell us they’re monitoring the wall, but we want to know what the latest is.
“It’s no longer just a problem for those residents directly affected, it’s now an issue for the wider community who travel on the road. We believe the time has come to move on with this.”
Whatever the situation is regarding liabilty I don’t know why the council does not just repair the retaining wall. The cost is usually said to be £15,000, or a tiny fraction of the money given to three senior council officers every year in return for no work at all. Come on CCBC just repair the wall, incident over, bad publicity over, possible danger averted.
They would rather argue and drag it out over a few months, maybe take it to court and then add another £20k and then they will fix it.
I can see what you describe happening, it beggars belief that with an annual budget of more than £300 Million the council is willing to dig their heels in on an issue where the residents may well be right. As someone once said, “common sense is actually uncommon”, they may have had the council in mind.
Once again we see Caerphilly Council failing to take responsibility and make a decision.
As for common sense – they don’t understand the meaning
I believe that the cost is 15k per dwelling affected – the sum could be 100k in total…….not that I am defending CCBC responsibility.
Could be John, so let’s say £150,000. That is one year salary and pension for just one of the senior officers who have enjoyed a paid holiday for several years. Come on CCBC just repair the wall.
The wall issue is an absolute shambles and a disgrace. It was the council responsible for approving the construction and it was constructed woefully below standard as can obviously be seen if they got of their backsides to take a look. It is their responsibility and whoever signed that wall off originally before the houses were built, should be sacked and prosecuted. They now claim the wall is unlikely to move further. really? Houses above it, water draining off mountain beneath houses , old mine workings beneath. Disaster waiting to happen, sort it out CCBC. In fact they could probably stick a couple of the fat guys on extortionate salaries while suspended behind the wall, save on some rubble.
The wall was part of an Adoption of the Highway Agreement signed in the mid-1980s making it the responsibility of the Council but for some reason that he cannot explain one of the Council officers, Tim Stephens, believes that the wall is owned by the residents. It is worth noting that he is NOT an officer in the Highways Dept. so why the Council is allowing him to represent them is a mystery.
As if that was not bad enough he claims that the Council is monitoring the wall which is obviously not the case as one look at the photo above shows that the Council’s monitors cannot even see the top of the wall, let alone monitor it
Given your background and qualifications, Tim, I believe that you are right and that a court of law would most likely find in favour of the residents and instruct the council to make the necessary reparations.
So why are the council adopting an entrenched position? I think there is another story lurking behind the scenes here. I have seen this many times, council officers running rings around the elected representatives whilst working to their own timetable and agenda.
I was told while working on ground stability issues for a local authority (not this one) for many years that the Council is responsible for retaining walls that support the highway and the landowner is responsible for retaining walls adjacent to the highway that do not support it. Adoption of a highway by the Council was not mentioned as a relevant factor. I did not read the legislation but was told this by highways engineers working for the local authority.
I assume the issue isn’t as clear cut as that given the protracted nature of this specific incident.
I agree that disputes like this are not clear cut and a court ruling could go either way. The council, however, is a political entity and every decision it makes has a political angle. It makes sense for the ruling party, Labour, to simply repair the wall. It could opt to thrash this out in court with the residents but even if a ruling went in the council’s favour it would cast them in a bad light with the voters.
The possible danger to the public cannot be ignored either. What happens if someone is injured, or even killed, as a result of this wall collapsing. Would the council then try and sue the residents? Far better to just repair the wall and avert a possible tragedy.
Generally highway retaining structures are adopted and property retaining structures are not. Those that are follow a comprehensive procedure involving design, review, approvals, inspections and so on.
Consequently the determination of ownership is often straightforward. If not, a judge can always rule.
Presumably there’s a long list of interested parties such as owners, surveyors, insurers and original builders all with varying levels of responsibility in this case.
What’s certain is that it’s not going to fix itself.
I’m sure this should be a bun fight between CCBC and the homeowner’s insurers?
The home-owners insurers are not getting involved.