Residents feel 'abandoned' after landslip

Ralitsa Hiteva and her family are now renting a property in Bexhill

Residents forced to flee their homes after a landslip say they feel they have been abandoned by the authorities.

The occupants of two properties which back onto Old Road Gill, in Hastings, have been unable to return home since 21 February due to a landslip six days earlier.

Dr Ralitsa Hiteva, who is now renting a house in Bexhill with her family, said victims have been abandoned by Hastings Borough Council, Southern Water and insurance companies.

She said: “No official work has actually been carried out by Hastings Borough Council, or anybody for that matter.”

On 10 June, the council set aside £250,000 to create a landslip team to remedy with the problems at Old Road Gill and implement a response similar incidents in the future.

But Dr Hiteva said she feels the various authorities are “shifting responsibility” which is preventing her from returning home.

“We’re all in the same position, all the houses, where the insurance companies failed to help at all because it hasn’t affected the actual properties,” she said.

“Instead of being treated as people who need help, we’re being treated as a problem.”

Two households were forced to leave their homes after the landslip

Old Roar Gill is a nature reserve partly owned by the council.

Two households were told they must leave on 21 February. Two further households were told their homes were in danger.

The council offered temporary accommodation to all those affected by the old Gill Road landslip at the time of the incident.

A spokeswoman for the council said there will be a “verbal update” at a cabinet meeting on 5 August which will provide an update on what has happened since councillor agreed on the funding and creation of a landslip team in June.

A council spokesperson said: “Council officers have been working with affected residents since the landslide in February, and we continue to work with them to find a resolution.

“We have prepared some tips for residents who live in areas affected by landslides and will be publishing these next week.”

They said the council will give an update on the work that is being done on 5 August, when an insurers’ report will also be published.

The water company has been contacted for comment.