Residents demand action as development falls into disrepair

AN Omagh housing development originally marketed as an idyllic urban dwelling has in recent years degenerated into a ‘failing’ estate, according to local residents.

Shergrim Grove has been in free fall since the company who built it went into liquidation, leaving fundamental infrastructure in a state of incremental collapse.

Each year since its effective abandonment, the park, which is located next to Strathroy and less than a ten-minute walk from the town centre, has slipped deeper and deeper into disrepair.

“The roads are ravaged with potholes, footpaths are uneven, protruding manhole covers have caused serious damage to cars and represent a genuine public safety hazard, the sewage system is totally inadequate, and the street lighting – which, like the rest of the amenities and infrastructure in the park, is defunct because no public body has taken responsibility for its maintenance since the builders went bust – means patches of the park are more or less in darkness when the sun goes down,” complained one resident earlier this week.

‘Unsanitary predicament’

According to members of the affected community, this unsafe, unsightly and potentially unsanitary predicament came about because bonds held by NI Water and Department for Infrastructure (DfI) were never used to complete the construction of parts of the park.

As a result, many basic amenities in the area have never been adopted by the relevant public bodies. NI Water do not take responsibility to maintaining the sewage system, and DfI do not accept a duty to care for the roads.

One local resident, Matthew Beaumont, who is also an Alliance Party activist, said he has been ‘trying to get something done about it’.

“The council never called in the road bond back in 2008 when the original builders went bust.

“The costs (to bring infrastructure up to an adequate standard) now exceed the value of the bond by a considerable amount.

“As such, NIE, NI Water and DfI Roads won’t adopt the road in to the existing infrastructure until this has all been sorted. As such, the quality and standards have fallen by the wayside,” he said.

Mr Beaumont said this had made the selling of houses in the area virtually impossible.

“Those who own property on the road can’t sell their homes. Potholes on Google Maps from years ago are still here and, in most cases, worse.

“It’s a frustrating mess that never had to be this way,” he added.

Remediation

Omagh town councillor Barry McElduff, though, believes the long-sought remediation may finally be closer than residents realise.

“I recently met with DfI Roads in Omagh’s County Hall and was given some information that may give hope to homeowners, tenants and landlords of Shergrim Grove,” he began.

“DfI essentially said that they were willing to come in at phase two of a remedial project, but said it only made sense that NI Water first take care of any sewage issues,” he said.

“Addressing problems with the sewage system will mean digging up the road, so it only makes sense that resurfacing work is done secondary to this.

“It is now my informed opinion that the mistreated and often-ignored people of Shergrim Grove have reason to be optimistic that something may finally be done.

“I will be scheduling a meeting with NI Water in the next few weeks and hopefully that will be the next crucial step in bringing to completion the work that began in Shergrim Grove almost 20 years ago.”

‘Stuck with a house I can’t sell or afford’

WHEN Marian Meehan got the keys to her new home in Shergrim Grove back in 2009, she was a 55-year-old school teacher starting out on a new chapter of her life.

“I didn’t buy it out of greed or as an investment; I bought it to live in.

“I was in the process of going through a divorce and I needed my own house. I wanted something that wasn’t going to cause me any bother.

“I looked around for a while before deciding that one of the new builds in the then freshly-finished Shergrim Grove seemed like the perfect place,” said the Omagh woman.

However, 15 years later, Marian is now struggling to pay an expensive mortgage on a house she no longer wants, but cannot sell.

“When I first moved in, everything seemed fine.

“As the years went on though, the roads deteriorated, nobody ever came to repair manholes that were a real traffic hazard, and there were always faults with the street lights.”

However, the first time Marian became aware of just how deep the problems with the park’s infrastructure ran was when she tried to sell up.

“I got news that I would be moving back into my old house, so I put my house in Shergrim Grove on the market.

“I had a buyer and the deal was almost done, when, to my complete surprise, the mortgage lender told the prospective purchaser to turn and run.

“They had discovered something that virtually everyone else who had tried also found out; the sewers had not been adopted by NI Water.

“I then found out that the roads were not being maintained by DfI, and that nobody had taken responsibility for the street lighting either,” said Marian.

These facts about the park rendered the houses within virtually unsellable.

“The only houses that any of the original owners ever managed to sell were bought by cash buyers. As soon as a mortgage company carried out a risk assessment, it was all over. Today, though, even the people who can afford to pay cash are being advised against it by their solicitors. You just can’t sell them,” said Marian.

Debt

To help cover the cost of her debt, Marian has moved a tenant in.

“He is a great wee fella and he is good with his rent, but it just isn’t enough. The mortgage alone is £800 per month, then I have insurance and rates on top of that. It has been a total disaster.”

Marian explained that she has attempted to bring the people of Shergrim Grove together in an effort to get the necessary remediation work carried out.

“We all know that the people who need to help sort this mess out are Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, NI Water and DfI Roads. But for years they have been palming us off and passing the buck, saying it is the responsibility of everybody except them

“I am a 70-year-old retired teacher; I haven’t got the time, expertise or energy to be fighting this fight.

“I have had the DUP, Sinn Féin and now Alliance saying they are going to get something done, but nothing has worked so far,” said Marian.

“If they all keep doing the same thing over and over, how do they expect to get different results? Maybe it is time for some of them to come up with something different.

“There are a lot of families living in that park and I feel sorry for the ones that are trying to move out. I am not exaggerating when I say, with the state of the roads in there, it is a matter of time before somebody is hit by a car.

“None of us want to see that happen, obviously. But it seems like that might be what it will take for somebody to finally take responsibility for sorting the place out.”