Hi,
I wonder can someone offer a bit of advice here on the following situation.
My mothers house is built on a 1/2 acre site in a provincial town. The site is unusual in so far as it is located within a two minute walk of the main shopping streets. It is situated on a hill with an old stone boundary wall surrounding most of the its perimeter and landscaped gardens.
Recently a new dwelling was granted planning permission on an adjoining site. The problem is that because the site is on a hill it actually means that the new dwelling is elevated and built on top of this old stone wall which varies in height from 3m to 6.5m at different points. At the planning stages my father (since deceased) entered an engineers report highlighting the condition of the wall and the fact that it could not be used as a retaining support for a new structure. Planning agreed and put a condition in that an engineer would have to indemnify the wall and furnish a report on depth of foundations etc.. before construction started.
This was back in 2000.
However the house has been started in recent weeks without any such report or insurance been lodged. We contacted the Town Council and two town planners (new) have visited the site several times and stopped construction at foundation stage. They felt that the site should have been piled from the inside to lend support. They could not believe that planning was granted on the site with the wall in its condition. Again however the owner of the new dwelling totally ignored the council and continued building. The house is now at roof level.
The planner told me Christmas week that his hands are tied and that the local council is" choosing" not to do anything about it.The engineer also intimated that he has had pressure on him from a particular Town Councillor.
The house is built so close to the top of the wall that there is no room for a footpath around it. The site is tiny. Anyone who has looked at it has told us that no engineer will indemnify it, as it is almost a certainty that the wall is going to give way.
Our problem is now that over the Christmas period the wall has deteriorated further and has actually started to fall in places. My mothers property is very valuable and if this wall does fall the owner of the new dwelling will not most likely be in a position to compensate for damage caused. The damage will probably run into thousands of euro.
I should point out that we have no objection to the house been built and really are just looking for a copy of an engineers indemnity insurance to be lodged so that at least we have some comeback. We just want our property to be left alone.(My fathers love was his garden -so this is almost a sacred place now since he died, in my mothers eyes.)
I would really appreciate if someone could guide us in the right direction here. We really do not want to be awkward neighbours but unfortunately have found ourselves in a situation that has to be addressed.
Where do we go next? Sorry if this post is long winded.
Many Thanks,
Igora
I wonder can someone offer a bit of advice here on the following situation.
My mothers house is built on a 1/2 acre site in a provincial town. The site is unusual in so far as it is located within a two minute walk of the main shopping streets. It is situated on a hill with an old stone boundary wall surrounding most of the its perimeter and landscaped gardens.
Recently a new dwelling was granted planning permission on an adjoining site. The problem is that because the site is on a hill it actually means that the new dwelling is elevated and built on top of this old stone wall which varies in height from 3m to 6.5m at different points. At the planning stages my father (since deceased) entered an engineers report highlighting the condition of the wall and the fact that it could not be used as a retaining support for a new structure. Planning agreed and put a condition in that an engineer would have to indemnify the wall and furnish a report on depth of foundations etc.. before construction started.
This was back in 2000.
However the house has been started in recent weeks without any such report or insurance been lodged. We contacted the Town Council and two town planners (new) have visited the site several times and stopped construction at foundation stage. They felt that the site should have been piled from the inside to lend support. They could not believe that planning was granted on the site with the wall in its condition. Again however the owner of the new dwelling totally ignored the council and continued building. The house is now at roof level.
The planner told me Christmas week that his hands are tied and that the local council is" choosing" not to do anything about it.The engineer also intimated that he has had pressure on him from a particular Town Councillor.
The house is built so close to the top of the wall that there is no room for a footpath around it. The site is tiny. Anyone who has looked at it has told us that no engineer will indemnify it, as it is almost a certainty that the wall is going to give way.
Our problem is now that over the Christmas period the wall has deteriorated further and has actually started to fall in places. My mothers property is very valuable and if this wall does fall the owner of the new dwelling will not most likely be in a position to compensate for damage caused. The damage will probably run into thousands of euro.
I should point out that we have no objection to the house been built and really are just looking for a copy of an engineers indemnity insurance to be lodged so that at least we have some comeback. We just want our property to be left alone.(My fathers love was his garden -so this is almost a sacred place now since he died, in my mothers eyes.)
I would really appreciate if someone could guide us in the right direction here. We really do not want to be awkward neighbours but unfortunately have found ourselves in a situation that has to be addressed.
Where do we go next? Sorry if this post is long winded.
Many Thanks,
Igora