Residents given 10 minutes to flee homes amid ground movement fears

Residents of a Clackmannanshire village where 60 homes have been evacuated due to "ground movement" have told BBC News they were given minutes to leave their properties amid reports of "unsafe structures".

Thirty homes in Dunmoss View in Coalsnaughton were evacuated as a precaution on Wednesday, a week after 30 homes in the adjacent Benbuck View were told to leave their homes.

Some residents, who have been staying in temporary accommodation and with relatives, said they spotted cracks in their homes and heard strange noises before moving out.

Clackmannanshire Council leader Ellen Forson said she could not rule out the possibility that more streets could be evacuated.

"Obviously this time last week it was one street and there were no indications that another street would be impacted," she said.

"Then yesterday we saw there was another street, so I think it's natural to be a bit worried that there could be other streets involved.

"At this time we can't rule out anything, but the Mining Remediation Authority are the experts on this, they're leading the site investigations and we'll hear back from them if anything else changes."

A Mining Remediation Authority (MRA) map shows that there was a mine entry on what is now Dunmoss View and the area is marked as having "past shallow coal mine workings".

Margo Brown, who has lived in her housing association property for six years, was among those who were evacuated from Dunmoss View on Wednesday.

She was allowed back with her husband and daughter to retrieve personal items on Thursday.

Her husband spotted a new gap between their gate and the gate post earlier this week, she said.

"He came into the house and said 'I think we're moving', and that was it.

"The step at the front door has moved so you can get your fingers right in."

Margo said the news was a shock.

She said: "You're waiting about all day trying to find out what's going to happen, then we got an email saying, no it's OK, you don't have to get out.

"Then 20 minutes later, "all out, everybody out".

"Ten minutes to get out and that was us."

The couple are now staying with family.

She said: "They did offer us some place but it wasn't acceptable to us, so we're going to our daughter's.

"We love the house, so we'd definitely come back.

"You feel numb when you're thinking, what's going to happen to us. Just shock really, everybody wondering what's going to happen."

Aaron Anderson, a father-of-three living in an adjoining currently-unaffected street, said his "anxiety was through the roof" waiting for "the chap on the door".

The 36-year-old, who is married with three children, including two 11-year-old twins with autism, has lived in his house for seven years.

He said: "It's scary to say the least and (I'm) very very anxious.

"I basically sat up all night wondering what's happening, and worrying about what's happening.

"Obviously the people in the two streets, you're worried for them."

He said the two current options if his family were evacuated were the nearby Devonvale Hall or a hotel.

Aaron said: "My two children could not cope with either. We're a family of five and where we would go, I have no idea.

"When it was a couple of streets down, you thought OK this is a little bit scary, I wonder what's going to happen.

"Then it moves up the street and it seems to follow a trend where it feels like we're next."

Aaron said he had been checking his house and garden regularly for signs of damage.

He said: "I check for cracks in the garden, up the side of the house and the cladding, I've not seen anything.

"When I saw people evacuated yesterday, I noticed them taking TVs and stuff, so I don't think they expected to be back anytime soon, I have no idea."

Marc and Laarni Payoyo and their three children have only lived in their home in Dunmoss View since February.

Laarni, 37, said cracks had appeared at the top of their kitchen wall before Wednesday's evacuation.

She said: "In the morning we were woken up by people talking on the street and wondered, what's that noise?

"But the night before we were already hearing strange noises at night. We thought, that's strange maybe it's the wind.

"My husband went out straight away but when he was trying to open the door it's kind of jammed a bit."

The family have packed some of their belongings and have moved into temporary accommodation in Stirling.

Laarni said: "It's a hassle because the kids go to school here."

She said she tried to stay positive after Benbuck View was evacuated last week.

"I was praying, because we just moved in here almost four months ago," she added.

"There's too much to process at the moment

"We're just taking one thing at for a while for now and the good thing is we can still get our stuff."

Last week Clackmannanshire Council imposed a three-week road closure in Benbuck View for "ground investigations and safety reasons".

The sites have been secured, with fencing erected and security and police present to prevent unauthorised access.

The 60 evacuated properties consist of 41 owners, 19 housing association tenants and four council tenants.

All 30 of the Benbuck View homes are private properties.

It is understood the operation has already cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Residents can currently book slots twice a day for accompanied visits to their homes to retrieve property.

An initial report on the ground movement is expected from the MRA next week.

Ellen Forson said the local authority was prioritising residents' short-term needs.

She said: "At this time, we don't know how long the families will be out of their homes.

"At the moment we are dealing with immediate needs, making sure that everybody's got a roof over their heads and that they're able to access any supports.

"But longer term, we need to think about families' best needs as they move forward."

Asked if rehoming residents was an option she replied: "I think that's a bit of a way off.

"At the moment, it's temporary accommodation to meet initial needs and we'll look at the situation as we move forward from there."

Forson said: "At the moment the council is covering all the cost of the temporary accommodation. We are a small local authority, there are challenges with that.

"So we'll be looking out to national partners in both the Scottish and UK governments to see if there is support available."

The evacuation was raised at First Minister's Questions, where John Swinney told local MSP Keith Brown that the Scottish government's resilience network would be supporting the council.

A spokesperson for the Mining Remediation Authority said: "We are aware of reports of new ground movement on streets adjacent to Benbuck View and we are working closely with Clackmannanshire Council, to swiftly inspect these to support residents and ensure safety.

"We understand how worrying this is for the community, and we are doing everything we can to support Clackmannanshire Council and those affected and respond as quickly and safely as possible."