Homes in Willenhall contaminated land area ‘worthless’
Residents in Willenhall told council chiefs their homes became “worthless” for more than a decade as a result of their area being classed as contaminated.
People living in the Stonegate and Trent Park estates, based on the former Willenhall Gas Works asked Walsall Council’s cabinet – at a meeting on Wednesday – whether the authority would provide compensation and council tax rebates.
Council chief Mike Bird said anyone wishing to pursue compensation claims needed to seek their own independent legal advice.
A report to the committee said the council believed it had acted in the interests of all residents during the “complex and technical matter” and would uphold this position if any claims were brought forward.
Councillor Bird added that applications for council tax reductions or rebates needed to be submitted to the authority and would be assessed on their own merit.
In January, cabinet took a decision to revoke the ‘identification of contaminated land’ status but residents said the issue had hung over them for 12 years.
Christine Meads spoke at Wednesday’s meeting on behalf of a number of residents.
She said: “When our houses were classed as contaminated, they became worthless. So why did we continue to pay council tax at Band C when we should have been placed in a lower band?
“The council could have been more empathetic and used their own discretion as we believe we have overpaid for 12 years.
“What you are now saying is that unless we have money to take out private actions, we are not going to get anything.”
The site was formally designated as contaminated by the authority, as a result of information they had at the time, in 2012.
A legal battle then occurred after the authority served a remediation notice on the original developers, with the council arguing they were responsible for clearing up the site.
But an appeal against the notice was submitted and a public inquiry was launched in 2015. In 2017, the secretary of state for environment quashed the remediation notice.
The department also concluded there were weaknesses in the original determination and that assessments did not meet their risk guidelines.
Walsall Council subsequently hired Land Quality Management Ltd to conduct further surveys on the land and, in January, they concluded the area was not contaminated after all.
The authority said it will continue to support residents affected by the issue.
By Gurdip Thandi, Local Democracy Reporter
