General Discussion
Collapsed Wall on Teignmouth Hill
Hooray! Work seems to have started on the wall at the bottom of Teignmouth Hill. I drove past a little earlier and they were busy on site. As promised, here below are the replies to the questions I posed to Devon County Council; so at least we all have hard facts about what has been happening and how long the work is expected to take
(1) Who is responsible for mending the wall, Devon County or private owners?
The wall is private and is the responsibility of the householders of the properties above.
(2) Assuming it is private owners, have you been given any information about when the work will be done?
I have spoken this morning to the loss adjuster about our displeasure that the work is taking so long. I have also spoken to the contractor carrying out the work. I have been informed that they will be clearing the debris from the footpath this week and sorting out the stone that needs to be kept. Next week a scaffold will be put up and the remaining loose material removed. As a Temp measure the rock face will then be netted to prevent further falls. The contractor believes that this will be 3 weeks work from today.
(3) Why can't the rubble be cleared and the highway re-opened pending repair work?
The reason the footpath is closed is not the debris on the footpath. Even if this had been cleared we would still have to have the footpath closed. We were advised by our structural engineers that the wall still had unstable areas and these needed to be dealt with before the path was reopened for the safety of the travelling public.
(4) What powers does the County Council have to intervene and do the work if the private owners are taking too long? At what point could these powers be able to be exercised?
As the insurers are dealing with this issue it would not be of benefit for DCC to intervene. If nothing was been done there are a couple of routes we could have taken with the ultimate being we carried out any work and then tried to reclaim costs through the courts. We have to give the insurers a reasonable time to deal with the issue, and they are dealing with it.
(5) There is no provision to help people in wheelchairs or with limited mobility get past the problem, will an officer from Devon County meet with the mother of a wheel chair bound boy who is struggling on to buses to get up the hill to discuss the access problem?
When I spoke with the contractor this morning I asked that they make provision for people with disabilities and people pushing buggies by ramping of the kerb line. I am more than happy to meet with the mother of the wheel chair bound boy if they wish to contact me directly.
Thank you Mr Clayson. I don't know you but am always impressed that you follow up on posts here.
Well Michael you have got the brownie points for that task, pity it wasnt done weeks ago, but well done anyway
@michaelclayson. thanks for the information and i can actually verify what you say.they have been very busy today and have done a good job.
@ Michael
Thanks for that info. Just one question though, when you say that the wall is the responsibility of the householders above, do you mean the owners of Cliff Court? If so, I am amazed that the road above the wall and the wall itself haven't been adopted by the Council when the houses were built, which wasn't that long ago, as it abuts the main highway. If I were living there, which fortunately I am not, I would not be very happy with that responsibility.