New houses being built in Aintree are “sitting on a sponge” and could move over time, a neighbour has warned.
Michael Scully, who lives near the development under construction on Wango Lane and identified himself as a chartered engineer, told Sefton Council’s planning committee last night (July 28) that the houses’ foundations were unsound.
He said: “It’s all sitting on a sponge and over time, as the thing swells and moves with variations in water, the whole thing is going to move.”
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He made his comments during a debate on an application by developer Mullberry Homes (not to be confused with Mulberry Homes) to increase the number of properties on the site from 53 to 59.
The plans for 53 homes were approved earlier this year and work is already underway, but the revised plans would see six terraced houses replaced by two blocks of six flats, all of which would be classed as affordable housing.
The 53-home proposal was already itself an increase on the original application to build 43 homes, while the Local Plan suggested only 25 homes on the site.
While planning officers said the increase would still be acceptable as it only just exceeded the council’s housing density limit, they told Wednesday’s meeting that further increases would probably not be recommended for approval.
But Mr Scully had further concerns, claiming the area was subject to flooding and some of the houses were too near the canal and would struggle to get insurance.
He said: “The canal and rivers officer wrote to the case officer raising concerns. They said they had serious concerns that it was too close to the canal.”
Mr Scully also claimed that several workers had left the site because they had not been paid by the developer.
He said: “This is not well-managed, well-built or sustainable and it will not be affordable.”
However, building standards do not fall within the planning committee’s remit and officers said the site itself was not affected by flooding.
They added that they did not think the additional six homes would cause significant traffic problems.
The committee voted 10-3 to approve the proposals, with the three opposition councillors voting against.
Mullberry Homes did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
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