A family whose garden was hit by tonnes of earth from a landslide have been left homeless and in a bitter dispute with the council, according to the Express.
The Sussex Express online has reported that Ralitsa Hiteva, her family and a neighbour have been told by the council that they cannot stay in their homes 'until remedial work to strengthen their foundations is completed'.
Ms Hiteva told the Express that she had no idea if she would ever be able to return to her home.
However, the neighbours and the council have since been in a dispute over who owns the land where the landslide began, with the Hastings Borough Council saying it's privately owned and therefore the responsibility of the landowner to deal with the problem.
Ms Hiteva told the Express: "The insurance company won’t pay. Landslides are covered, but only when the main building is damaged.
"The landslide is moving toward our house, but at this point we cannot see any physical damage and that puts us in a terrible position."
The council has released a statement to residents saying the landowner should inform their insurance company and ask them to investigate.
The statement, obtained by the Express, reads:
“Following on from last week’s updates on the landslip at Old Roar Gill, letters have been hand delivered to residents affected in Foxcote and Penhurst Close updating on the latest situation.
"We have now received a preliminary geological survey that has identified that the slippage occurred from the land above the Gill outside of the land in the council's ownership. The initial slope stability exercise has identified that the slip circles appear to be very close to the nearest house foundation. The dimensions do vary between the properties. These results would however need to be corroborated by a geotechnical engineer following a ground investigation.
"As this is not council owned land, the council cannot act further in this matter. We have advised the residents that it is the responsibility of the landowner to inform their insurance company of this potential risk to the house foundations and request that they attend urgently to carry out further investigations.
"In line with our duties under the Housing Act 2004, we must also assess whether the properties are safe to occupy until further the investigations are carried out by the insurance companies. This may result in a prohibition order being imposed, until the risk to persons can be mitigated or further information becomes available to confirm the properties are safe to occupy.
"In these circumstances, residents would have to find alternative accommodation until the property is safe for the order to be lifted. If residents are unable to find alternative accommodation, the council will seek to provide this.”
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