Mis sold property ?

Katieb1987

Hello.. I’m new here.. I bought my new build house November 2017, moved in December so been here for just over a year, behind my house there is about 40 houses and a 3 story block of apartments which are for WHG to fill with occupants. However last year some time they stopped work on them and in January this year it appeared in the newspaper that they were unsafe to live in due to a chemical plant behind the fence just behind them. This has bought to light a lot of things for example it’s unsafe for the whg tenants to live in these properties and ‘no one should live in 100 meters as it’s unsafe’ yet I’m 85 metres from the chemical plant that until January this year I didn’t know existed. I have heard from other neighbors we have been missold our property’s and should get legal advice. The builders comment was ‘well someone’s gotta live there’

Can anyone give me any advice on where to go with this? The local MP wants to see some of us residents tonight but would be good if I knew a bit more of where I stand before she just instructs us on what to do etc

Thank you
X

quantumlobster

Where is this? The kind of chemical plant that is invisible from 85 metres is pretty small, right?

00ec25

so you mis-bought your property because you did not investigate for yourself what was within 100m of it?

go see your MP and find out if they think there is enough votes in it to be bothered helping you. All comes down to why this "chemical plant" has a restriction zone on it and who therefore had a duty to find out about it before building within such an exclusion zone - if it applies....

Katieb1987

Is that not what solicitor searches are for ?

kingstreet

What was the result of the Environmental search your solicitor carried out?

davidmcn

Katieb1987 wrote: »

Is that not what solicitor searches are for ?

If you want to know what's within a 100m radius of the property, the easiest way of doing that is to go for a walk.

If your solicitor got a desktop environmental report (not compulsory) then that would probably have revealed nearby potentially contaminative uses. Though checking that report is usually aimed at what might already be contaminating the property, not just what's in the vague vicinity.

If the development got planning permission then the planners obviously didn't think residential use is a difficulty.

I think we need to know more about what sort of "chemical plant" this is and why it's only now being considered as an issue.

Davesnave

Where can we find this newspaper article you refer to? It might stave-off a heap of questions anyone would ask before knowing how to respond..

polki

I believe it is a toxic waste site that was considered as normal waste by the council planners. This was in spite of the site owners advising them otherwise in no uncertain terms.

polki

sorry -l I tried to edit and llost my post

I can add a link if OP is ok with that.

I believe it is a toxic waste site that the planners considered to be normal waste. This was in spite of the site owners telling them otherwise in no uncertain terms.

Davesnave

polki wrote: »

I can add a link if OP is ok with that.

I believe it is a toxic waste site that the planners considered to be normal waste. This was in spite of the site owners telling them otherwise in no uncertain terms.

OP has already named the housing association involved, WHG.
It's in the public domain and easy to find:


https://www.expressandstar.com/news/property/2019/01/08/50-new-homes-left-empty-in-cannock-over-toxic-waste-fears/

chunkytfg

https://goo.gl/maps/Dbt2B94Tfm72


Surely when you buy a house you have a look on google maps at least to see whats around you?

i'd have been nosing around that industrial estate to see whats in there at the least and any company I couldn't work out what they do i'd google them.

Axil Intergrated services immediately rings alarm bells as a 'waste management company for the aerospace industry. Oil's, brakes, and fuel systems on planes are all very toxic and mostly quite smelly!