Couple's three-year 'nightmare' after landslip behind Ansty home

Colette Jacobs and John Brown said they wanted a solution which suited everybody

A couple whose garden backs on to a canal said a landslip three years ago had left them living in "a nightmare".

Collette Jacobs said part of the canal embankment in Ansty, near Coventry, Warwickshire, dropped about 3ft (91cm) after heavy rainfall in October 2020.

Her partner John Brown said they were "in limbo" and wanted authorities to find a solution everyone agreed to.

The Canal & River Trust said it was "not at fault" and had been advised to monitor the site for any movement.

Since the landslip, the Ansty Road bridge over the canal had been reduced to one lane controlled by temporary traffic lights.

"We just want a solution that suits everybody," Mr Brown said.

"It is not just us it is everyone in the village that has been affected. We have all had to wait at those lights."

Rat problem

Part of the couple's garden remained fenced off while they said a closer boundary to the canal had led to rats entering their garden and home.

Ms Jacobs said the slip by the Oxford Canal followed "significant rainfall" and a sewage pipe bursting.

It happened two weeks after their new garden wall was completed but she said the slip was far from the structure and they were told by an expert it was unlikely to be the cause.

"The land slipped and it took my brand new wall with it and half my garden," she said. "We've been living with this nightmare ever since."

It had been "really distressing", Ms Jacobs added.

"Not only has the garden slipped, our house is being monitored for movements, we've got cracking that's happening in the patio and it's been an absolute nightmare to get house insurance," she said.

The council said ground investigations would see if it could carry out repairs on the B4065 Ansty Road

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) said the embankment that slipped was the responsibility of the Canal & Rivers Trust and the landowner.

The council and Severn Trent Water said a sewer that was damaged had been repaired.

The slippage had "caused a substantial cavity underneath the public highway", said WCC which it added it was still monitoring for further movement.

A spokesperson said they were keeping traffic and people away but aimed to upgrade the temporary lights to improve the flow of traffic.

The council had also commissioned ground investigations with a view to repairing the road, they added.The Canal & Rivers Trust said land at the couple's home "slipped down towards the canal".

"This was as a consequence of ground saturation following intense rainfall during Storm Alex," a spokesperson added. They said there was nothing to suggest ongoing instability to the slope but the trust had been advised to observe it for any signs of movement.

"We always advocate neighbouring landowners go through our protocols when undertaking building works within the vicinity of a cutting, slope, or waterway," they added. Mr Brown reiterated the couple's claim that the wall was the unlikely cause and added they welcomed the ground investigations as a possible step forward.  

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