A homeowner says he has been plunged into a "living nightmare" after his neighbour's botched attempt to build a house left his garage at risk of collapse. Shaun Simpson, 60, says the abandoned building site just metres from his home has left his garden unsafe.
Businessman Mustapha Matib, who is not a builder, took it upon himself to act as principal contractor for the construction project. But the site, on Gibraltar Lane, Denton, was plagued by problems, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Mr Simpson raised the alarm with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after he witnessed workers being put in danger by digging barefoot and leaning over unprotected holes several feet deep. He says he was told excavation work close to the boundary of his property had compromised the ground beneath his garage, putting it at risk of collapse.
Matib was prosecuted and handed a suspended prison sentence for breaches of health and safety laws. But Mr Simpson says he and his wife are still living with the consequences of the "cowboy" work.
'We're living on tenterhooks'
Mr Simpson, who moved into his property 25 years ago, said the saga started when the house next door was sold after his neighbours passed away. Tameside Council granted planning permission in the summer of 2018 for a new two-storey detached house with four en-suite bedrooms, a double garage, a gym and an indoor pool.
Following this the bungalow, garage and carport that used to sit on the site were demolished. Mr Simpson said there was an "invasion" of workers who came and started to "rip the house apart".
He said three conifer trees were also felled during the demolition. "It was like something you might have seen in the sixties or seventies – lads just wandering around, ripping stuff down," he said.
Then soon after, while he was out but his wife at home, Mr Simpson claims a digger came close to their fence line and started excavating. He said: "My wife asked the guy what he was doing and he said the measurements he'd been given would have taken him halfway into our garden.
"Of course by then it's all too late – it had been dug out right up to our line. My wife said they were digging that close to us the house was actually rumbling."
Mr Simpson initially contacted Tameside Council to complain but felt compelled to take matters further when he saw men working barefoot on the site. "I just thought 'no'. You've pushed the boat out a little far now pal", he said.
He said he considered reporting the issue to police before opting instead for the HSE. Inspectors attended within a matter of hours and issued a prohibition notice ordering no further work to be carried out.
Officers from the council also visited the site and told Mr Simpson his garage was "compromised" by the building work. After being advised to park his car elsewhere, he recalled: "I just thought where else am I gonna put it?"
"But now I just keep thinking 'is this going to collapse one day?' We're living on tenterhooks. It could be a total catastrophe with respect to my house. "
HSE inspectors found a "large, deep and unprotected excavation" on the site, understood to be the foundations of the swimming pool. The hole – said to be around seven feet deep and a "fall risk" – filled with water in inclement weather making it even more of a hazard, said Mr Simpson.
"At that time there was nothing to stop people getting on the site." he said. Temporary harris fencing was later erected, although Mr Simpson still felt concerned over security due to the lack of a lock.
He continued: "I had to secure it myself a few times. Kids could have got in at any point.
"And when the water was there it was basically a death trap waiting to happen. Not specifically for his so-called employees but kids are kids and I thought if they see something like that they will get in there."
Following the excavation work, fences along Mr Simpson's property boundary started to fall down, meaning he felt unable to allow his dog to run loose in his garden. "It's made my garden not a safe area at all," he said.
"The land from my garden used to go out on a flat plain into next door's garden. Once they dug away there was a drop of about 14 foot.
"It was absolutely unbelievable. You could have fallen over there and killed yourself. Luckily we don't have grandkids or anything like that because they wouldn't be able to play out either. You're just living in trepidation."
The HSE said it established Matib had failed to prepare a construction phase plan with risk assessments and method statements detailing how the work would be carried out safely. Combined with a failure to appoint a suitable site manager, the executive found the work "put workers in danger and rendered the neighbouring property unstable".
Mr Simpson said Matib had "refused to engage" with him throughout the ordeal. "He's got land there and land will always make money but the value of my property is going down", he said.
"If I tried to sell my property now someone would come along and say 'you're having a laugh aren't you?'. During the time this has been going on I've lost my mum and dad, so we were running around trying to look after them and had all this on top. With the value of my house going down, it's just been a complete joke."
The site has now been secured but its future remains uncertain following Matib's conviction. Mr Simpson wants Tameside Council to revisit the planning permission.
He said: "I've no problem with a house being built there, it just needs someone to come along and stop de-valuing the area. This is a lovely area and that's why we bought our house. But what has happened – if you can think of something s***y and put fish hooks in it and a bit more – then that's it."
Other neighbours living near the site have previously told the MEN about how it has impacted them. Echoing Mr Simpson's sentiments, one said the site was an accident waiting to happen and that he could "not believe what he was seeing" when barefoot workers were spotted.
Matib, of Allerton Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay costs of £5,673 at Manchester Magistrates Court.
Speaking afterwards, HSE inspector Phil Redman said: "Inspectors will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against duty holders who fall below the required standards and put lives at risk."
