AN ELDERLY COUPLE constantly lives on the edge – literally – after a landslide left their home precariously above a 25-foot embankment.
Tom and Jennifer Evans, both 79, own a bungalow in Isle of Wight who balances precariously on the edge of a fall.
When a landslide hit their home around 20 months ago, they needed urgent repairs or they risked their house collapsing on top of them.
The municipality, which assumed responsibility for the landfill, has not yet carried out these tasks.
The couple are currently on the brink and fed up with the council’s inaction.
Evans is concerned that the bungalow is no longer worth it, adding: “My house is unsaleable at the moment, there is no way to sell it.
“I have no other means of support. This is now affecting our quality of life.”
Mrs Evans’ reduced range of movement exacerbates the problem, and she has since been unable to install accessibility ramps for her scooter.
The condition has left the retired nursing home worker in a lot of pain, moving very slowly, taking 20 minutes to walk to the hospital. bus stop on the other side of the road.
Without the ramps, she feels “like a prisoner” in her own home.
Evans added: “I worry that my wife needs some quality of life because her mobility is only getting worse.
“It’s frustrating.”
Isle of Wight Council, which owns the landfill, was initially alerted in June 2021 about cracks in the landfill before the landslide occurred.
The grandparents of two children were then given two different start dates for the reconstruction work, both of which were later cancelled.
In November 2022, its boundaries were extended again, with the fence surrounding the bungalow teetering on the edge of falling.
After nine days, he fell and crashed onto the road below, along with four meters from the edge of the cliff.
The anxious couple have been waiting almost two years since the landslide to repair their home, which is expected to take just eight to 10 weeks.
With upcoming warnings of severe weather that could affect the landfill, Mr Evans was worried he and his wife could be crushed.
The pensioners moved across the Solent from Hertfordshire ten years ago, but have now been left in limbo due to constant delays in repairs.
Evans continued: “It’s a little guy trying to take on the big guy and nothing seems to be getting done.”
“We moved to the island ten years ago in search of a better life, but now we’re exhausted.”
The Sun has contacted Isle of Wight Council for comment.
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