The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Anger over landslip of banking after storm
NEGLIGENCE: Storm landslide topples tree into car park used by daughter just minutes before
A disabled Perth council tenant is threatening legal action after a landslide brought a tree down minutes after his daughter had been standing in its path.
Bosnia veteran Harry Marshall Snr, who stays at the Riverside Cottages in Perth’s Friarton area, said he had been tormented by the banking behind his home for some time.
The recycling centre uphill is built on a former landfill site and, for months, soil has been eroding from the hillside, exposing years of rat-infested filth which pours out the banking into his garden.
Harry, 40, has spent the last year campaigning for a gabion or retaining wall to be installed to hold back the waste, which has included tyres, televisions and even an electric guitar, but said his pleas have been spurned by council chiefs.
The problem came to a head during Storm Ciara last week when a landslide brought a tree down the banking.
CCTV shows it toppling at 8.15am and landing in the car park which Harry’s daughter had driven through just 15 minutes earlier as she left for university.
Harry said Perth and Kinross Council had previously assured him that the matter had been “rigorously investigated” and the site was being monitored for further movement.
The dad-of-two, was placed in the home after being diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury. It was hoped a peaceful riverside residence could help his recovery.
He is now considering legal action, branding Perth and Kinross Council’s lack of action “negligence.”
He said: “I told them the banking was going to collapse a year ago. Just as I had predicted, part of the banking gave way on Monday taking some trees with it and barely missing my daughter’s car.
“There’s loads more debris that I’m worried will come down now.
“I said a year ago that that tree would hit somebody. It could have seriously injured me or killed my daughter. There are more trees on that banking too.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesman said staff had visited to site in an effort to reassure residents.
“The banking at Friarton comprises made-up ground of many decades’ standing,” he said.
“Our officer – who has been familiar with the slope for 15 years and had previously observed negligible change to date – concluded that there were no short or medium-term concerns regarding its stability. But, in recognition of the wetter climate and previous concerns expressed by residents, Perth and Kinross Council had installed pegs at the bank base to monitor for potential movement.
“Officers from the council met with residents earlier today to reassure them that the bank is stable, that it is being professionally monitored and subject to regular lay inspection.”
I said a year ago that that tree would hit somebody. It could have seriously injured me or killed my daughter. HARRY MARSHALL