Life in the shadow of cliff that collapsed in landslide

RESIDENTS STILL FEAR FUTURE INCIDENTS COULD HIT HOMES

- By JOSEPH CONNOLLY Local democracy reporter

THE 30-odd homes facing the slope of the old Berry Hill Quarry in Mansfield are arranged in a perfect L-shape.

As you drive on to the estate, the trees at the top of the bank provide a picturesque backdrop to the neat three-storey homes below.

But many of those homes are now empty, says mum Jade Smith, who lives opposite.

She's lived there for nine years and was in the house on November 4, 2019, when torrential rain caused the slope to collapse and sent mud, rocks and even trees cascading into gardens below.

“There was just screaming,’ recalls the 33-year-old. “Somebody had lost their cat. People were running to move their cars out of the car park. There was lots of shouting”

The landslide that day resulted in 32 homes beingh emptied and 60 residents being rehomed, some for two weeks, by Mansfield District Council while an emergency cleanup operation took place.

But work to secure the cliff face from slipping again did not start until March 2021.

In the meantime, two further landslides occurred.

Fencing and netting were fixed to the vertical wall over an 18-month period to make the road safe to live on.

But now - six years later - the district council is spending another £600,000 on stabilisation work. And some residents are only now learning about it.

Joshua Whitmore, who lives with his wife and young daughter in one of the houses backing on to the slope, is one of them.

The family bought the house in 2015 and were at a restaurant when the landslide happened.

“T got a call saying we were being evacuated indefinitely,” says the 35-year-old. “It was a bit surreal.”

After two nights staying with family members, they were allowed back, with the main landslide having taken place at the back of homes on Bank End Close.

The other two landslides came and passed with no issue for Mr Whitmore. But it was when the remedial work began that the problems started.