Anger as homes left with cracked walls by Penrith New Squares project

By Thom Kennedy

Last updated 11:08, Saturday, 11 October 2008

Homeowners in Penrith are preparing for a bleak winter after discovering cracks in their homes will not be covered by insurers.

Costly: Residents say cracks started to develop when work began in Penrith

Cracks first started to appear in the homes along Castle Hill Road when foundations were being laid on the New Squares project in August.

They have since worsened, and a surveyor brought in to assess the damage has warned homeowners that a structural engineer could be necessary to repair the cracks.

However, at a cost of over £1,000 just to look at the problems, residents fear they will be left with permanent damage, as their insurance claims will not cover the cracks in the houses.

Margaret Clark has seen matching marks appear across the front and back walls of her house, as well as more serious structural damage which can’t be seen from the outside.

She said: “Our own insurers say we are not covered for vibration damage, so we are now at the mercy of the developers’ insurers.

“Obviously the weather is going to get into the properties. My house will be all right over the winter, but one of the ladies down the road, she has loose wall plates and a loose roof, and the weather will just blow the roof cast off.”

She added: “I have covered myself for everything you can insure your house for, but it seems their idea of accidental damage is if a Boeing 747 falls out of the sky and into your house.

“If there are cracks in the house now, what on earth is going to happen once this aberration is built and we have delivery trucks driving up and down?”

The New Squares development ground to a halt this week, leaving residents scratching their heads over who will cough up to pay for the damage to their homes.