A resident living on the boundary of a construction site has voiced concerns over “cracks in walls” and “dust everywhere.” Work began on Palmer’s Cross housing development at the end of May, an Anwyl Homes scheme that will create 203 new homes and more than £3.6 million in community investment.
Articulated lorries and trucks have been used to deliver deliver building materials to the site along Houndings Lane, which runs past Tony Jones’ house on Laurel Close.
Mr Jones told the “Chronicle”: “My whole house is shaking. It’s just been a mess. Everybody’s cleaning their cars, but there’s dust everywhere. There’s cracks appearing in people’s walls and brickwork.
“I suffer from asthma and there’s a family of three over the road, who have a child that really suffers with his breathing and is on medication every day. It’s really bad.
“Outside, I’ve got three cracks that have appeared on the walls.”
He went on: “They’re using a track that comes right down the side of my house, but it’s just a little farm track that was made for farm vehicles, not the 40-tonne trucks and diggers that are coming down it.”
Mr Jones said that the vibrations from the heavy traffic caused furniture to vibrate inside his house, and that one of his neighbours had “put Blu Tack under his furniture and ornaments” in an attempt to stop them moving.
As part of its original agreement with the council, Anwyl Homes had planned to construct a new entrance point to the site from the roundabout on the A534 Old Mill Road.
Instead, Mr Jones explained that construction vehicle drivers were using Hassall Road, then Houndings Lane – a farm track that runs parallel to Laurel Close, Palmer Road and Condliffe Close.
“The wagons were supposed to come up from Waitrose roundabout from the town. If they came up from there, they wouldn’t have passed people’s houses,” Mr Jones said.
“The wagons are having to drive on the footpaths where kids walk to school; it’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Mr Jones said he had contacted Anwyl Homes to complain, but that the only response he had been given was that it had been “put on file”.
He added that Anwyl claimed it had not caused the issues he had reported to them.
“They just keep saying to send emails and report it, but it’s affecting everybody’s mental health,” Mr Jones said.
“People have worked hard all their lives to pay for these houses and material goods like cars. It’s just all getting ruined. Everybody’s just about had enough.”
Pile-driving for the site is due to start in mid-October, a construction method in which long columns of steel, concrete or timber are hammered deep into the ground to create stable foundations.
“It’s just going to be horrendous when they start pile-driving,” Mr Jones said.
“They basically said ‘it’s nothing to do with us.’ It’d be good if they had the decency and respect to send somebody around to show they’re actually interested – we’ve all got to live in the area.”
A spokesperson for Anwyl Homes said: “We understand the concerns raised by local residents and continue to work closely with our contractor on site, Chasetown, local councillors and Cheshire East Council to minimise the impact of works on neighbouring homes.
“Independent vibration monitoring is in place around the site and the results recorded to date indicate that levels have remained below those associated with damage to neighbouring properties.
“We’re also continuing to implement dust suppression measures and investigate any concerns reported to us. We remain committed to maintaining an open dialogue with residents and local representatives and will continue working proactively to reduce disruption, including from site traffic, as the development progresses.”
As previously reported, the new development will be named after Anthony Palmer, a Sandbach man who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest honour for bravery awarded to British armed forces, for his actions in the Crimean War in 1854.
Cheshire East Council was contacted for comment.
(Photos: Sarah Bradley).
