GOING - GOING - GONE - Updated 10th May 2005

Demolition Contractors Hughes and Salvidge demolished the derelict houses on the Chase Field estate this morning nearly four and a half years since the houses were evacuated just before Christmas 2000. Granada Television were on site to record the destruction of the last remaining house as part of their forthcoming programme which will include a slot on the Chase Field saga.

Few will be sorry to see the houses demolished but they were, once, the homes of twelve families who were forced to leave when the water began to rise with alarming speed, taking just a few hours before it reached the level of the surrounding road and began to flow around the cottages alongside the A32 and on into Chawton.
The problems for the ex-residents were compounded as negotiations dragged on in the months following the evacuation, particularly when it became clear that the houses were likely to remain flooded for some considerable time, the families were never going to return to their homes and, with compensation becoming an issue, some parties were reluctant to accept any share of responsibility for the fiasco.

The site didn't completely dry out for five months, when the last muddy puddles evaporated in the May sunshine.
Even as they were being demolished the flood level in the houses was still visible, the walls and windows still stained by the sewage contaminated water that inundated the site.

 

The rubble from the houses will soon be cleared and used in the construction of the Maplecombe Estate which will be built to the east of Chase Field site ( in the background of this picture) over the coming months.

Chase Field - St George's Day 2005

Chase Field - May 9th 2005

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