Family wake to shock demolition
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7852535.stm Version 0 of 1. by Mark Simpson BBC News Ireland correspondent The Richman's seafront home, before and after the demolition on Sunday Residents in a seaside town in Northern Ireland have complained after waking up to find one of their neighbouring houses was being knocked down as they slept. They said the first they knew of the early morning demolition in Newcastle, County Down, was when they heard the sound of a bulldozer at 0630 GMT on Sunday. "I thought it was an earthquake," said Caroline Richman, who lives next-door to the demolished house, with her husband and four kids. "I thought I was dreaming. I leapt out of bed and looked out the window and saw to my horror that the house next door was being knocked down. "I am still in a state of shock. I am horrified that this happened with us still in the house. The safety of my family was compromised as well as the structure of my home." The century-old terrace house was in a protected area, and Stormont Assembly member Jim Wells has called for those behind the demolition to be prosecuted. There has been no comment from the developer who owns the property. Demolition The seafront home was demolished in less than three hours on Sunday morning. Once the Richman family got over the initial shock of their own house starting to shake, they took out their home video-camera and recorded the destruction. Father-of-four Dean Richman, originally from Kent, said he wanted to capture the last pictures of the historic house. "In an ideal world it should put it back the way it was, or something at least that reflects the historic nature of what the building was. "What I don't want to see is some rotten, modern apartments that you see everywhere." The Richman family were woken on Sunday by the sound of bulldozers The family want the authorities to take immediate action. In response, a spokesperson for Northern Ireland's Department of Environment said: "Although not a listed building, the site is within a proposed Area of Townscape Character. "Under planning legislation, planning permission is required for the demolition of buildings. "The Department is currently considering its options on this issue including the serving of an enforcement notice which may require the construction of a building, referred to as a replacement building 'as similar as possible' to the demolished building. "The financial penalty is a matter for the courts. The maximum fine for the demolition of a building can be up £30,000 in a Magistrate's court." As for the Richman family, they are trying to find out whether their home is still structurally sound. Their big concern is that an interior wall suddenly becomes an exterior wall overnight. They have heard all the jokes about things going bump in the night, and feeling the earth move. But with four young boys in the house - including a baby - they don't want to take any chances. Advertisement 'An interior wall suddenly became an exterior wall' |