'I live on an unsafe West Midlands housing estate cut off by a landslide - we’re baffled at plans to build more homes here'

Residents are fuming at developer’s plans to extend their newbuild estate - despite it remaining unfinished after five years and being cut off by two landslides.

Homeowners say they have been "plagued by problems" since moving into their £400,000 properties in the Cradley Heath area of the Black Country.

Some have been cut off from their homes for more than six months after two separate landslides blocked their road last March and just before Christmas. 

Around a dozen residents of Haden Cross Drive are still unable to park on their driveways after earth and rubble tumbled across the street just feet from their front doors.

Others have complained about other ongoing issues which have left the site "unsafe", including streetlights which have not been turned on and problems with their sewers.

Locals say they are baffled that Dunedin Homes now wants to build six more homes nearby as they haven't even finished the existing area which "looks like a building site."

Matthew McSwiggan said residents had "reached breaking point" and to build new homes now "would be nothing short of a disaster."

Matthew, who moved into Farmhouse Close three years ago, is demanding the current issues are rectified before plans for any new homes are considered.

He said: “Dunedin have overpromised and undelivered.

“It would be nothing short of a disaster for new homes to be built at this stage.

“We’ve been left living on an unsafe and unfinished site for almost four years. We still have no street lighting, which led to my elderly mother tripping.

“Only last week were our driveways and paths finally tarmacked, after years of chasing the developer.

“It has caused much anxiety and anger for residents, which would get worse if more homes were built.

“We have been luckier than those in Haden Cross Drive, but we have all been left fearful for our homes.”

'The plan is outrageous'

Green Party councillor, John Tipper, who represents the Cradley Heath area, said: “The developers have not remedied initial issues raised by residents with the estate currently, and it defies belief that they would now apply to build more homes.

“The landslip was not the first issue, and the residents have been left living in conditions they shouldn’t have to tolerate.

“I think the plan is outrageous.”

Engineer Reece Aleksander, 33, said residents felt abandoned and feared the problems on the estate would never be resolved.  

The engineer, who lives with his wife Georgia and their baby, said: "We can't believe they have had the audacity to submit these plans.

"Surely fix the problems that exist here first. There has been a lot of objections and protests.

"They want to build it on a road at the top of the bank where the landslide happened and a lot of people think this is unsafe. 

"When I step outside my house we’ve still got this big mound of dirt to look at. It's a nightmare.

“Even going up onto my lawn I can still see this big mound of dirt.    

“I literally said to my wife that I hate living here. We bought a newbuild under the impression that there wouldn’t be any issues, maybe a few snags.   

“But instead I'm having to deal with this. It’s just too much. It’s just become an absolute joke."   

'It's a disgrace'

Another local resident said: "I think it's a disgrace that they think they can leave the estate looking like this and crack on with another development nearby.

"They are just thinking about lining their pockets rather than sorting the issues we're suffering with. They have left behind a half-finished building site."

Dunedin Homes, the developer behind the 53-home estate, wants to add six new houses to the development on a patch of land at the rear of the site.

The three-and-four-bed homes would be built on a new cul-de-sac around 150 metres away from Haden Cross Drive.

The ground above homes in Haden Cross Drive began to slip in March last year, when a wall gave way, and now a massive mound completely blocks the road to the cul-de-sac.

Dunedin Homes said it is working with the relevant specialists to assess the slope and will determine the cause of the landslip so that repair works can then be carried out.

The developer also said it has undertaken works in Farmhouse Close this month, including the final topping of tarmac to all footpaths and driveways, replacing damaged kerbs to all dwellings, and plans to energise the estate’s street lights soon.

It denies there are any issues related to sewage or drainage on the estate.

Dunedin Homes statement

A spokesperson for Dunedin Homes said: “Any outstanding works will be completed as demonstrated on Farmhouse Close earlier this month.

“Sadly, the landslide has prevented the final works on and around Haden Cross Drive, but the new engineers and investigations are almost complete, which will soon allow Haden Cross Drive to re-open and the streetlighting to be energised.

“There are no issues with drainage or sewage.”

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