A RETIRED couple living next to a controversial building site in Wrexham have been left upset and angry after developers told them cracks in their bedroom wall had most likely been caused by climate change and not by the vibrations of construction traffic.

John and Wendy O'Keefe, who have been married for 53 years and lived in Old Meadow Court in Llay for the past 11, considered the once peaceful, countryside residence as the perfect retirement home until February this year, when work to build more than 300 houses began on adjoining land, which they say has made their lives "sheer hell".

The joint development by Anwyl and Bellway Homes to build on the land known as Home Farm has resulted in up to 130 construction vehicles accessing the site via Old Meadow Court each day, the vibrations from which, the O'Keefes claim, have caused various cracks, some at 45 degree angles, to appear in the ceilings and walls of their converted barn.

The Leader:

John O'Keefe points out the crack in his bedroom wall, which he says has been caused by construction traffic going to and from a housing development

Mr O'Keefe, 75, who started his working life down the Llay Main Colliery, before spending 30 years as a technician for Kellogg's, said: "It's been totally unbearable living here these past couple of months.

"From before 8am, until gone 6pm, there can be around 130 wagons bouncing in and out of here. It's constant, all day long.

The Leader:

A close up of the signiciant crack in the bedroom wall

"You don't even have to see them, you can practically feel them, because the whole house shakes. We noticed the cracks appearing about three months ago and they're getting worse."

After making a complaint to the developers, Anwyl arranged for a structural engineer to visit their home to carry out an investigation and although several of the cracks in the ceilings and walls were considered cosmetic and repairable with filler, the crack in the couple's bedroom wall is that significant, the plaster will need to be completely taken away and replaced.

Following the visit and despite it taking several attempts, a copy of the confidential report was eventually made available to Mr O'Keefe, which he says confirms their home to be well maintained before concluding the cracks were caused either by vibrations or climate change.

The Leader:

The O'Keefe's have lived in their converted barn on Old Meadow Court for 11 years

Mr O'Keefe added: "After I read the report I contacted Anwyl and they told me they'd decided to go with climate change as being the most likely cause; which is ludicrous in my opinion, as there were no cracks at all three months ago.

"They've left me with little choice but to get my own structural engineer out. I'm a 75-year-old pensioner and my wife's 73 and we've got wagons bouncing all over a road that we own."

Although Old Meadow Court is a privately owned road, with the residents of those living in the seven bungalows being responsible for its upkeep and maintenance, part of it provides a right of access to a track for farming purposes; rights which Anwyl confirmed to the Leader back in February they had inherited when they acquired the land for development.

The Leader:

Up to 130 construction vehicles access the site a day via this track off Old Meadow Court

Having taken the advice of a solicitor, Mr O'Keefe accepts that in all likelihood, the developers did inherit the rights of access when they acquired the land; however, he says there should at least have been a moral obligation on their behalf to ensure some form of consultation took place with the Old Meadow Court residents before construction work began on February 11 this year.

Mr O'Keefe added: "Nobody from Anwyl or Bellway has ever been in contact with me or anyone else living here about the amount of traffic that would require access and the potential impact that it might have.

"There are also supposed to be strict planning regulations in place as to what times of the day they should be accessing and leaving the site, but they are constantly being broken.

The Leader:

There is a significant pot hole on the access road, most likely caused by the volume of construction traffic visiting the site

"I've complained about it to Wrexham Council and the only response I get back is "well, we have got some discretion". To me, it seems like the word discretion means developers can do what they like and the council won't do anything."

Mrs O'Keefe, 73, said the last couple of months had left her feeling devastated.

She said: "Sometimes you can't look out of the window without a wagon being there. When the engineer came around to carry out his inspection, I was really upset and emotional.

"We just feel like, we've retired and this is our time to enjoy life and we've had nothing but sheer hell. We just can't cope with it anymore.

"The developers originally told us they would stop using our road for access by the middle of June, but we don't believe a word they say anymore."

Although approached, Anywl Homes did not wish to provide a comment on this occasion.