Inquiry to solve puzzle over landslip in St Thomas, Swansea
INVESTIGATIONS into a landslip which closed a Swansea road and flattened a car are continuing, according to Swansea Council.
Several families had to evacuate their homes on Beaumont Crescent, in St Thomas, in the early hours of Saturday morning, following the collapse of a retaining wall.
Tons of rubble and soil spilled out over the pavement and road, flattening a car parked at the kerbside.
The emergency services asked up to four families to leave their homes while the damaged was assessed. They were all allowed back home several hours later.
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St Thomas councillor Joe Hale said: "We're so grateful that it happened when it did, it could have been tragic.
"It's on a main school route for some of our kids to take buses from the Grenfell Park estate, so we're grateful that it happened at 4am and not in the afternoon."
Homeowner Paul Davies was told to leave his home in Beaumont Road in the early hours by the police, forcing him and his wife to stay with their daughter in the next street.
He said: "It happened at around 4.15am. We heard a noise and the wife jumped up. I ran to the window and could see it all (rubble and earth) down on the road."
Neighbour Brian Howell added that engineers from the council had been out to survey the houses and had said that they were safe.
"They looked at them and there were no fresh cracks and they are quite happy that they are safe," he said.
Mr Howell also said that the crushed car belonged to a neighbour from across the street.
"He is ok with it," he said.
Collapsed
The council engineers and surveyors were at the scene by first light to inspect the properties and carried out some work to fence off the site from the carriageway.
A council spokesman said: "In the early hours of Saturday morning a section of the retaining wall at Beaumont Crescent collapsed onto the highway.
"The authority was called to the site and temporarily closed the road. After clearance works were undertaken the carriageway was reopened shortly after noon. We are looking into the matter to determine ownership of the wall so that repairs can be carried out as soon as possible."
Comments
by Jiffy
Tuesday, October 09 2012, 11:51PM
“The owner of the land is responsible for repairs. That's why they should have insurance. The council only needs to be involved if they own the wall, have concerns about public safety and/or need to repair the damaged pavement.”
by richie2803
Tuesday, October 09 2012, 11:30PM
“I am glad nobody was hurt, this is going to go on for ages. The same thing happened on Constitution Hill a few years back and it's still not repaired, the council have been dragging it out saying it is the the responsibility of the property owners, and the owners are saying it's the councils responsibility. The same situation also happened on Brynmill lane, I would like to know how much this is costing the taxpayer?”
by Jiffy
Tuesday, October 09 2012, 8:39PM
“A lack of inspection and maintainance has cause the wall to fail. Retaining walls require good drainage. If water is allowed to build up behind a wall, the weight will eventually push the walls over.
Owners of properties that have retaining walls need to watch for early signs of failure such as bulging, cracking and water build up on the top of the walls. If you have a retaining wall built on the cheap, don't be surprised if it fails.”
by HaroldMonk
Tuesday, October 09 2012, 8:23PM
“The rain may be at fault here.”