A frustrated homeowner has claimed he’s ‘trapped’ in his home and unable to sell it for the £1million it should be worth as a council car park is subsiding onto his property
Andrew Ewart-James, 78, bought Home Farm in the Gloucestershire village of South Woodchester in 1977 – and now opens his door to be confronted with scaffolding.
He said has been living with a problematic retaining wall in his garden for decades which he says has reduced his property’s worth by £600k.
The council has put up scaffolding to help support the bulging car park wall until a long term solution is found – but Andrew says it has been crumbling for years.
He has now issued a High Court proceeding against Stroud District Council over the wall because he said he is ‘too old to hang around’.
His wife died recently and he is desperate to get the property sold so he can move into a smaller home and his children can get their inheritance.
Andrew Ewart-James, 78, bought Home Farm in the Gloucestershire village of South Woodchester in 1977 – and now opens his door to be confronted with scaffolding
The problematic wall at Andrew Ewart-James’s home in South Woodchester
The front door opens into the scaffolding propping up the wall
Andrew said: ‘I feel trapped. I am fed up with the council – they never say anything, never respond to me and never say what they are doing.
‘They say they keep the residents up to date but it is not true – they won’t disclose their plans, but I know they are doing the cheapest job they can and they do not really care when they get around to doing it.
‘I’m too old to hang around so I have issued instructions to go to High Court proceedings against them for damages!
‘I used to be a solicitor, so I know the process won’t be immediate but it will come along – when the council they get the message I’m serious, hopefully they will do something.’
He told the The Local Democracy Reporting Service: ‘When we bought the home in 1977 there were only two cars in the car park – but now there are seven to eight!
‘My wife died and I don’t want to live in this home on my own. We have been here 47 years and I want to sell it.
‘I want to live in a smaller home and give my children the share they are entitled to under their mother’s estate.’
Andrew fears until the problem his solved he is prevented from selling and getting a good deal for his property due to the current situation caused by the adjoining car park.
He said: ‘Nobody with half a brain would buy a house in this condition. It’s probably worth somewhere over £1m.
Andrew is pictured standing in his garden in full view of the car park
The council has put up scaffolding to help support the car park wall until a long term solution is found – but Andrew says the wall has been crumbling for years
Andrew’s front door opens directly into a wall of scaffolding
‘I reckon the fall in the value of this house would mean only an investor would buy it in its current condition for around £400,000.’
Andrew said his surveyor told him in 1977 there was a large retaining wall with a 12ft drop.
The surveyor said at the time that the structure was fine but ‘retaining walls nearly always cause problems’.
He said: ‘In 1986, we had a structural survey specifically of the wall because we noticed cracks developing. They weren’t following the outline.
‘The cracks were going through the bricks. We knew we had a problem.
‘We have had to live through this problem since 1986 when we first notified the council there was an issue.
‘At that time we put up marker tags to see if there was going to be any movement in the council’s wall.
‘It showed slight movement over the years and then in January 2019, the wall lurched four inches being pushed by the council’s wall.
‘We built buttresses. We were under the impression the whole thing was going to come tumbling straight down down.
Andrew said his surveyor told him in 1977 there was a large retaining wall with a 12ft drop and he knew there were issues. Pictured is the bulging scaffolding
Andrew says he’s trapped in a home worth less than half of what he bought it for due to the council car park subsiding onto the property
An aerial view of the car park which is hanging over his house and garden
‘They are using our own wall internal to the land of the property to prop up their wall and its not working and they are all falling down.
‘The council didn’t seem to take it particularly seriously and said there was no need for urgency.
‘I’m afraid that has been their attitude ever since. They don’t tell us what they are doing and they do when they feel like it.
‘I don’t think they are being directed by the elected representatives, it’s the paid officials who are deciding what, if anything, they wish to do, and I don’t think they are doing it properly.’
A Stroud District Council spokesperson said: ‘We have conducted essential preliminary work to identify the cause of the wall’s movement and determine the appropriate course of action.
‘Comprehensive structural and geotechnical surveys are now complete and our structural engineers have finalised the design for the repairs.
‘We are waiting for feedback on our plans from the residents’ own structural engineer.
‘We understand that living so close to a construction site poses challenges, however this is an unusually complex case due to the scale, construction type and location.
‘We have kept the owner of the neighbouring property informed of our actions throughout the process. Ensuring the safety of the public remains our priority.’
