S. Prasad

4th July 2011

My mother lives on a main road and for many years, the road has been dug up so many times, we have lost count. The problem is the various companies that have filled in the road after digging it up have never done it properly. This has resulted in my mother's house developing cracks in the walls due to the dreadful vibrations when buses & HGVs go past on the uneven parts of the road where they have dug it up. The machine they have used to dig the road has also made the house vibrate.

These vibrations are unbearable and are worst during the night time - we are shaken awake with a jolt, as heavier vehicles seem to go faster when there is less traffic around. It feels as if there is an earthquake tremor or aftershock!

I have contacted Waltham Forest council many times and there response is to patch up the sunken parts of the road. However, these patch-up jobs sink over time and we are back to square 1!

The cracks in the house are most apparent and are getting worse.

My mother is 82 years old, a dialysis patient with osteo-arthritis and I am her daughter - I stopped working to become a full time carer for her. We can't afford to fight this in court.

What would you advise as we are at a loss.

Replies (1)

Potholes.co.uk Expert     posted : 04/07/11 at 3:04 pm

My advice is to contact your insurance company about the cracks.

As for the noise and vibration, I know exactly what you mean as an empty HGV trailor can make a ridiculous amount of noise when it hits a few uneven parts of the road. If you haven't tried it already, instead of complaining about the road surface and vibration, I would try complaining about the noise and approach the problem under your Environmental Protection rights by advising Waltham Forest that the source of the noise is the uneven road and you want it investigating.

I've had a quick look and Waltham Forest have a noise officer:

http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/environment/environmental-health/noise.htm

Best of luck