River swept away garden right up to new house
AYOUNG family has been left homeless after the riverbank collapsed around their new riverside home on an estate the council never wanted to see built because of a potential flood risk.
Leigh Adams is now left with a house perched over the river with the foundations exposed, not knowing if he will ever be able to go back to his Newport home.
After being woken at 6am by neighbours telling him his house was in danger on February 17, Mr Adams rushed his wife and sevenyear-old daughter to safety before seeing the ground literally disappear into the raging river.
The house on the new Carnegie Court estate in Bassaleg was originally positioned about 25 feet away from the edge of the River Ebbw. But as the river surged in the days after Storm Dennis, the banks started to give way.
In less than 40 minutes, Mr Adams said, he watched as the ground crumbled, taking with it his garden furniture, the fencing, and solar panels waiting to be installed later that day.
By 7am on Monday, February 17, he could see the foundations of the 18-month-old house built by developer Redrow.
His wife, Simone, and daughter were unaware just how close they came to disaster as they waited in a nearby McDonald’s.
Redrow has said it is doing all it can to support the family.
Mr Adams said: “A neighbour knocked on the door and said ‘your river bank is disappearing’. I went out and realised this was dangerous, even life-threatening. I knew I just had to get my wife and daughter out and away – I didn’t care where.
“I couldn’t tell them how bad it was so they didn’t panic or get upset.”
After dropping them off at McDonald’s for breakfast, Mr Adams returned to his home to watch helplessly as the river inched closer and closer to the property.
“We lost roughly 25 feet of land to the river, as well as part of our garden,” he explained. “The riverbank has just gone, right down to the foundations.
“It took some of the patio, a substantial tree, most of the hedges. Also scaffolding, which had been put up as we were due to have solar panels put in the same day.
“The scaffolding went off down the river, narrowly missing neighbours that had come to offer help.”
He is now left wondering if their home, which is worth £385,000, is a write-off and whether he will be rehomed by Redrow. The family is currently staying in a hotel in Cardiff, paid for by Redrow, while the developer is in discussion with Natural Resources Wales and Newport council about what happened and why.
Meanwhile, the couple have said they are “anxious and uncertain” about their future. Mr Adams added: “Will we have a solution? Will we even have a house? Will I be in debt to a mortgage for a house that is uninsurable and unsellable?
“It’s all-consuming. I’m on a stress knife-edge.”
The estate is built on the former Tredegar Park golf course and was approved after appeal to the Welsh Government in 2007 on condition that robust flood defences were put in place.
Redrow and its contractors worked alongside the council and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to build defences designed to hold back water from the River Ebbw and even protect other properties already at risk downstream.
Mr Adams said he had been careful not to blame anyone directly, but said he believed the “woeful inadequacy of the riverbank” meant his home was “never fit for purpose”.
He questioned whether anything was “done to shore up the bank to prevent this happening”.
“Someone needs to tell us who is accountable and who is responsible. I want Redrow to rehome us to a suitable home and compensate us for the stress it has caused.”
A spokesman for Newport council said: “Following the devastating flooding last month, Newport City Council is working with the landowners, developers and statutory partners to facilitate any additional measures required to protect people and property.
“In 2005 Newport City Council refused planning permission for a residential development on the former Tredegar Park golf course on the grounds of the flood risk and the loss of the natural floodplain.
“The applicant appealed and a planning inquiry was held when the inspector broadly agreed with the council’s decision. However, the Welsh Assembly’s planning decision committee considered the case after being called in by the Welsh Assembly Government.
“It concluded that the risk of flooding would not be unacceptable and placed considerable weight on the applicant’s claim that new flood defences would provide enhanced further protection further downstream. The application was approved by the Assembly committee in March 2007.”
They added that discussions were ongoing between the council, the landowner and NRW, with scrutiny of the performance of the flood defence measures required by the granted planning.
A spokesman for NRW confirmed it was not responsible for maintaining the riverbank as it was private land. A spokesman said it was an issue for Newport council and Redrow.
Kate Lacey, head of customer services at Redrow South Wales, said: “We understand this is a difficult and distressing time for Mr Adams.
“We are doing all we can to support him as a valued customer, including acting quickly to arrange temporary hotel accommodation.
“The damage to his home is being assessed and we continue to work with all parties involved, including Newport City Council, which owns the land which was eroded.
“The flood defence works approved by the relevant authorities and put in place near the site, and further up the River Ebbw, helped to significantly mitigate the damage from this extreme weather event.
“We will continue to do what we can to help the Adams family.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases. Our policy framework clearly states that houses should not be built on floodplains.”