Chilwell: Residents' 'nightmare' after quarry landslide behind homes

Residents at the bottom of an ex-quarry in Nottinghamshire have been living a "nightmare" after a landslide sent debris sweeping towards their homes.

A slope by houses at the base of Chilwell Quarry collapsed following the heavy rain of Storm Babet in October.

People living in Leamington Drive said they have had "sleepless nights" in fear that boulders could come crashing towards them.

Broxtowe Borough Council said work has begun to stabilise the rock face.

The authority has signed off on urgent works in order to prevent any further collapse, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

"We've had sleepless nights," said Emma and Simon Wain, whose house sits next to the landslide. "Especially with the amount of rain that we've had.

"You wake up at 3am in the morning and you can't get back to sleep, you're just waiting for the rockfall, for the rain to finish. It's been a nightmare."

Mr Wain added: "When a boulder came down we thought we were having an earthquake because all the radiators in the house were rattling."

Despite their concerns, residents have praised the response of the council which "helped prevent a disaster from happening", said Mr Wain.

His neighbour Kevin Haynes echoed Mr Wain's sentiments regarding the council, but said trees at the top of the bank needed "monitoring" to prevent future landslides.

Residents say ivy has built up around the trees on the slope which has caused them to fall down.

"It's been very worrying," said Mr Haynes. "The council have kept us informed but it has been very worrying because this hasn't happened in the past.

"Once they've got things under control on the bank with the immediate landslide and the trees within the quarry, they need to monitor the situation with the trees.

"We need a proactive approach, rather than a reactive one."

The LDRS said the slope has been monitored weekly for signs of further instability.

Councillor leader Milan Radulovic promised local residents that they would be kept up-to-date, the LDRS added.

He told residents at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday: "You've heard our commitment to fully involve you as much as possible, with start dates, estimated completion dates and the schedule."

Additional reporting by Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter.

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