I fear the ‘unsafe’ building site next door will start a landslide that will crash my home down hill

• Gerry Timoney and his wife Eleanor live next to Port Glasgow development
• Work stopped in December 2021 due to a fire on the site 
• Area is now littered with gabion baskets full of stones and boulders 

A man living next to an ‘unsafe’ building site fears it will start a landslide that will destroy his home.

Gerry Timoney, and his wife Eleanor, live next to the Marturano Homes development in Port Glasgow – which was destroyed by a fire in 2021, months after securing planning permission.

The site was shut down by the Health and Safety Executive in December of that year, leaving the area littered with gabion baskets full of stones and boulders.

The site has a section of fencing separating the site from the driveway and other homes, but the couple are worried a harsh winter will cause the land to slip down the hill and take their property with it.

Mr Timoney, 78, said: ‘I’m appalled that nothing has been done.

Gerry Timoney, and his wife Eleanor, live next to the Marturano Homes development in Port Glasgow

The site was shut down by the Health and Safety Executive in December 2021, leaving the area filled with gabion baskets piled high with rocks 

The couple are worried a harsh winter will cause the land to slip down the hill and take their property with it

‘I’m worried that the land will slip down the hill and take my property with it.

‘It’s created a lot of worry for myself and my wife.

‘We’re pensioners, we don’t need this. It’s a dangerous site and it is a constant worry for us.’

The couple are now struggling to get insurance for their homes due to the risk.

Mr Timoney continued: ‘It floods all the time and it could freeze over. What happens when it thaws out?

‘Where does it go when it drains away? We want the site to be remediated so there’s no threat to our property.’

‘There are families all around here and a lot of kids nearby. 

‘I can’t let my dog out in the garden, he wouldn’t survive the drop if he went down the hill.

‘People are treating it as a dumping ground now. We’re getting ridiculous quotes from insurers due to the risk of subsidence.

‘We’re not interested in any financial gain from it. We just want the safety of it reinstated so we can get insured again.

‘I don’t know what will happen. We just want it cleared away.’

The 78-year-old and his wife are now struggling to get insurance for their homes due to the risk

The site has a section of fencing separating the site from the driveway and other homes

Mr Timoney says that JNP Group engineers found that the method of retaining the excavation had been ‘overlooked’ in development plans

Mr Timoney says that JNP Group engineers found that the method of retaining the excavation had been ‘overlooked’ in development plans.

Among many issues, they identified problems with the size of the gabion baskets (walls), the retaining wall, slope stability calculations, and the lack of facility for rainfall fall-off.

Owner of Marturano Homes, Alfie Marturano, claims work is due to start on the site ‘imminently’.

He said: ‘We’re in the process of refinancing everything. The delay is down to the insurance company not paying out.

‘Two full houses burned to the ground, in excess of £300,000 each.

‘It has taken a lot of money and solicitors to sort this out.’

Mr Timoney added, ‘I’ve been speaking to the neighbours and doing everything I can to try to keep folk happy.

‘I just want to get it done, to get the site nice and clean and tidy, and create nice family homes.

‘Hopefully it comes to a nice conclusion in the end.’

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