A County Down family which woke to find bulldozers demolishing the house next door will have to foot the bill for the damage caused to their Newcastle home because their insurance does not cover the incident. Dean and Caroline Richman are facing hefty repair bills because the action of the developer - who knocked down the property without planning permission - was deemed as deliberate, not criminal and is therefore not covered by their policy.
A spokeswoman from the Planning Service said while the developer had not acted illegally, planning permission was required under legislation. Despite repeated attempts, the Richmans have been unable to contact the developer and have spent the past few weeks dealing with builders and the relevant authorities to try and sort out the damage which could end up costing them thousands.
Since the incident the Newcastle community has rallied behind the Richmans and have organised a public meeting to voice their frustration over planning legislation which they feel benefits those who do wrong. The Planning Service and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) are currently investigating the incident, and a spokesman from the HSE NI said their officers had visited the site already.
Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2007/291, the demolition or dismantling of a structure should be planned and carried out "in such a manner as to prevent danger or, where it is not practicable to prevent it, to reduce danger to as low a level as is reasonably practicable." It should also be recorded in writing before the work in question begins. However, the Richmans said they were not informed at any stage by the developer that they were planning to demolish the neighbouring property.
