Cliff-top residents snub move to ‘council estate’

Now they have a whole new battle on their hands after dismissing land put forward for the relocation of 15 bungalows at Knipe Point near Scarborough as a “glorified council estate”.

In a final draft report which has been exclusively obtained by the Yorkshire Post, five parcels of land have been short-listed as preferred sites for the relocation of the homes which are deemed to be the most at risk.

But despite waiting two years for the sites to be put forward by Scarborough Council after it was awarded £1m under the Government Pathfinder scheme, residents feel they are no nearer to being released from “limbo” after their choice only appeared fourth on the list.

After analysing 48 sites, Scarborough Council has ring-fenced a proposed housing development on Muston Road, in nearby Filey, as the preferred option.

However, residents have set their sights on a holiday village in the Crossgates area of Scarborough, which would see them rehoused in eco-friendly luxury timber lodges.

Malcolm Pirks, chairman of the Knipe Point Residents Association, said: “We have now been waiting for two years with the Pathfinder because there hasn’t been any land that has considered to be suitable. Land seems to be very scarce in this area, especially for the amount we want. We have found a plot that has a very similar environment to what’s here, but there are problems with it as far as the council’s concerned.”

Following a major landslide in early April 2008, two bungalows left precariously balancing on the edge of the cliff were demolished later that month, followed by a third bungalow in May.

A section of Filey Road was closed last year over fears vehicles could plunge down the slope, and a further landslip in December saw more than 20ft of the site slip away due to heavy rain.

Stabilising work was ruled out after Scarborough Council estimated it would cost between £16m and £20m to protect the 56 properties at Knipe Point, which are worth around £5m.

But the residents were thrown a lifeline in 2009 when the authority was awarded £1m from the Pathfinder grant by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to help to relocate affected homeowners, with the rebuild cost coming out of their insurance following the demolition of their houses.

The Muston Road development has planning permission for 300 properties and is close to Filey School. It is owned by Coast and Country Homes and a small parcel of land on the site belongs to Scarborough Council. This has sparked controversy among a number of residents who believe the council wants to use its own land in order to pocket a portion of the grant.

Strenuously denying the claims, Coun Andrew Backhouse, the authority’s portfolio holder for the Environment and Coastal and Flood Defences, said: “The council owns a small piece of land on Muston Road, which is landlocked. We could have promoted council-owned land but the chosen sites are all owned by private developers.”

Residents have also hit out over the development being sited in an area which is prone to flooding. The problem has been highlighted in the report, which has angered residents as water saturating the land around Knipe Point was revealed as a cause behind the slips. “It would be like going out of the frying pan and into the fire,” said 73-year-old Judy Backhouse.

Coun Backhouse said: “Yorkshire Water has recently spent £500,000 updating all the drainage and on top of that the developers have submitted drainage plans for the whole site.”

After years of breathtaking views across the North Sea, the residents of Knipe Point say they are unwilling to move into the middle of “a council estate”, which will have affordable housing attracting young people with children and be unsuitable for residents who are mainly pensioners. There is also near an 850-pupil school.

A holiday village on the outskirts of Scarborough, which appears at the bottom of the list, meets residents’ approval, but there is a problem with squatters.

Coun Backhouse said the Crossgates site was unsuitable as it did not have permission for residential use and was only suitable for holiday lets.

However, he was prepared to put the residents’ case forward to DEFRA at a private meeting on September 7.

Couple looking for a way out

Ron and Judy Backhouse have owned their house on Knipe Point Drive for 19 years and after spending the past three living on the edge, they fear there is still no end in sight.

On New Year’s Day they watched as their 12ft-high garden shed toppled over the edge of the cliff into the woodland below, and the couple’s manicured garden grows smaller by the day.

The pair have spent the past two years anxiously waiting for an alternative site to be announced.

Mrs Backhouse said: “We have been in limbo for two years and we want a way out. It has been two years of hell.

“We have lived here 19 years and we came here to stay but we have accepted if we have to go we have to go.

“But we don’t want to go to the middle of a glorified council estate with 800 kids just across the road and somewhere that has flooded twice in the last few years.

“I would rather look for a place I like and rent.

“It’s a shame we will have to lose a house and rent but that’s our only choice.”