Home horror Littlehampton devastates couple

Terry Burns and his partner Eveline Abbott, of Hearnfield Road, arrived home from work one day to find bulldozers and heavy machinery knocking down the empty semi-detached bungalow adjoining theirs, without any warning from developer Abbey New Homes.

They say their family home has been ruined by the demolition, which has enabled the developer to begin building 24 affordable homes on land behind the bungalows.

Terry, 60, said: “I was absolutely devastated. It’s hard to put it into words, really. We came home and stood there, amazed. We looked at it thinking, ‘What the hell?’.”

The developers had mentioned, about three months before the demolition, that work would begin to knock down the adjacent property, to create a new entrance into the building site. However, the couple were unaware of the exact date.

The work began about five weeks ago and has left one of the couple’s walls, originally built as an interior partition wall, exposed to the elements.

Terry is furious that Abbey New Homes began working on the building site at the rear of his property, before finishing the repairs to his home.

He said: “They’re building now and that’s it. There’s absolutely nothing we can do. But I think it’s disgusting they can begin building, without finishing work on our home.”

The side wall is currently being protected by a plastic weather sheet, which has been tacked to the eaves of the bungalow.

However, carpenter Terry feels that this is not enough to protect his home from soon-to-arrive winter weather.

He added that, during recent windy spells, the sheeting regularly came loose, wrapping itself around the bungalow’s chimney.

“This is something we have now washed our hands of. We will have to put up with it.

“But we won’t let our grandchildren stay because of the state the area is in. It’s too much of a risk.

“I also suffer with asthma, and since the building work began, there has been so much dust kicking about.

“We have to keep all our windows closed, and I have had to use my inhaler, a lot more. It’s horrible.”

When approached by the Gazette, Abbey New Homes refused to comment about Terry and Eveline’s complaints, claiming it was “procedure not to speak to the press”.

Arun District Council, which granted planning permission for the development, also declined to comment.

A spokeswoman said it was a legal issue between the couple and Abbey New Homes and that the council was not obliged to speak about it.