EXCLUSIVE – Families battle to rebuild their shattered lives a year after they lost everything in devastating wildfires that tore through their village – as one couple reveal they are still living in a caravan on site of their wrecked home
A couple are still living in a caravan on the site of their wrecked home as families battle to rebuild their shattered lives a year after a devastating inferno tore through their village.
Company director Shaign Turner, 63, and his partner moved into the mobile home weeks after residents fled in terror as a wildfire raged out of control on the hottest day since records began last July.
When the blaze was finally brought under control by exhausted firefighters, 18 homes had been destroyed in the village of Wennington, Essex in scenes likened to the blitz.
Most families remain in temporary accommodation while others have been rehoused as bureaucratic planning issues and insurance wrangles have complicated the process of rebuilding.
Work is due to start on a terrace of nine houses by October but the best families are hoping for is that they will have returned by Christmas next year.
More than a dozen families were left homeless after a fire tore through the small village of Wennington, on the outskirts of east London, last July
The devastating wildfire ignited when Britain recorded sweltering temperatures of 40C (pictured is a before and after image of one property in Wennington)
As residents marked the first anniversary of the blaze last week, the first signs of rebuilding began as heavy machinery moved in to start the groundworks on some of the properties
As residents marked the first anniversary of the blaze last week, the first signs of rebuilding began as heavy machinery moved in to start the groundworks on the property next to Mr Turner’s caravan.
READ MORE: ‘Within minutes our house was gone’: Families’ terror as their homes burned to the ground and they were forced to flee for their lives, leave pets behind and try to stop flames with paddling pools as wildfires tore through the UK
Mr Turner’s home of 20 years is now a weed-strewn site surrounded by metal fencing.
Mr Turner – who has just received a settlement from his insurance firm and has planning permission to rebuild his home – said: ‘When I say we lost everything, I mean, we lost everything.
‘We loved our home – it wasn’t just a house.
‘My partner, when she left the house, she took a cat in a basket and that was it – barefoot and literally left everything else behind.
‘In her head, she thought we were coming back to that house that night.’
Mr Turner, who runs a shop fitting firm, added: ‘The problem is there are protocols and processes that have to be gone through – as if you were a developer applying for a new development on this land.
‘I don’t know whether in future if situations like this arise, things can be done to expedite that a bit more quickly for the people that have lost their homes.’
A woman who lives next door told how her home was saved because the wind changed direction and a concrete patio stopped the flames in their tracks after the blaze had started in a compost heap just yards away.
Her family spent six months in a hotel while the insurance company dealt with their claim after their property suffered external and smoke damage.
Pictured is teaching assistant Charlotte Hammond, who lives with her partner and five-year-old son and lost her home in the blaze
When the blaze was finally brought under control by exhausted firefighters, 18 homes had been destroyed in the village of Wennington, Essex
The woman, who did not want to be named, said: ‘The fire started just behind us. The four houses next to us were destroyed and have been demolished.
‘I don’t know how they’re coping.
‘It saddens me that they are living there in a caravan while others are still in temporary accommodation having to deal with the insurance and the council and getting planning permission.
‘We are back home now but how do we know something like this will not happen again? What has been happening to the families in Rhodes has brought it all back.
‘I get nervous whenever there’s a heatwave. I am not one of those people who looks forward to having hot weather. I’m happy when it rains – I pray for rain.’
Her partner said: ‘Those houses are completely burned down. When it happened the council told us that everything would be fast tracked. One family are living in a caravan, another has been re-housed somewhere.
‘The couple in the caravan bought it and put it there a couple of weeks after the fire. They have been living in it on their land ever since.
Work is due to start on a terrace of nine houses by October but the best families are hoping for is that they will have returned by Christmas next year
Insurers have given the go-ahead for repair work which will finally begin on Monday
‘What I don’t understand is the house burned down. They are building the same house in the same place so why has it taken so long to get planning permission. There’s so much bureaucracy.
‘We were just lucky because we were the closest to the fire. It was one of the houses that sustained the most damage that wasn’t burned down. It was a terrible experience for us. Hopefully we’re at the end of it now.’
Around 500 yards away is the home of retired construction boss Dave Biles, 68 and his wife Roberta, 69.
Their home, a former post office, was one of 10 terraced properties which made up Marine Cottages but today it is the only one still standing.
It took three months to demolish the charred remains of the nine homes and the site was broken into four times before that by ghoulish thieves looking to salvage something of value.
Since the demolition work finished on April 14 the site has been surrounded by hoardings and fencing with building work due to begin later this year.
Only six of nine families are expected to return to their homes with others who rented properties being rehoused while at least one home was not covered by insurance.
One woman resident will return alone after her husband – who was in his 60’s – died last month.
Since the demolition work finished on April 14 the site has been surrounded by hoardings and fencing with building work due to begin later this year. Only six of nine families are expected to return to their homes destroyed in this street
Work is due to start on a terrace of nine houses by October but the best families are hoping for is that they will have returned by Christmas next year Huge swathes of the community was destroyed when a wildfire spread and razed homes to the ground
Most families remain in temporary accommodation while others have been rehoused as bureaucratic planning issues and insurance wrangles have complicated the process of rebuilding
One local said: ‘He didn’t get to see his new house being built. It’s terrible.’
Another young family with two kids reportedly spent six months in a hostel surrounded by drug addicts before being rehoused by the council.
Although his home was left standing Mr Biles was left with a £400,000 repair bill after the blaze left him needing a new roof and destroyed a Mediterranean-style patio the couple had built together with a swimming pool, changing rooms, barbecue lounge and bar.
Insurers have given the go-ahead for repair work which will finally begin on Monday.
He said of the aftermath of the inferno: ‘It was like a war zone. Everyone was evacuated – the whole village. People left their houses and haven’t been able to go back since.
‘Luckily, there were no fatalities. One dog and three cats died.
‘It’s something you’re never going to forget. A lot of our neighbours were traumatised.’
Mr Biles has urged the Government to install firebreaks where homes back on to fields to stop another tragedy.
He said: ‘It needs to happen not just here but all over the country. There needs to be a compulsory order from the Government.
‘You’ve got to think of your kids growing up. This is their future. Look after them. Install these firebreaks and give them some sort of protection.
‘Other countries have it. It’s only digging a trench, sometimes they concrete it. As long as it’s a break, it slows it down. It’s got to be done.’
The first property on the other side of the former terrace is the home of teaching assistant Charlotte Hammond, who lives with her partner and five-year-old son.
Teaching assistant Charlotte Hammond, who lives with her partner and five-year-old son,
She said: ‘I was evacuated the day of the fire and we were out of here for six and a half months.’
‘It’s been very stressful, frustrating and sad.
‘It’s been sad not to have my neighbours here. My son misses his friends. We all got on. When it first happened I thought I had problems but the people who lived there have nothing.
‘They had their memories, all their photos and possessions. Some of them had been there for 30 years or more. They walked out with literally nothing. ‘They left their houses thinking they would be going back once it was over but everything had gone. It’s tragic.
‘It was like a film – like a disaster movie.’
Local vicar Reverend Elise Peterson, who held a commemorative service at
Wennington Parish Church last week, said: ‘It is still rather unimaginable that we continue to work and hope and pray for homes to be rebuilt and the village to be restored and lives to resume to some sort of normality.’
She added: ‘I’ve had a number of conversations with people over the past year, and in recent days, and we acknowledge that the fire was not a good thing, but there have been good things that have come out of the situation.
‘Getting to know some of our neighbours that we’ve never met before.’
Havering Council said it had worked in partnership with other local bodies to provide a range of support, such as helping to clear debris from homes, carrying out welfare checks and offering counselling, as well as supporting residents to find temporary accommodation.
Councillor Ray Morgon, the leader of Havering Council, said: ‘Over the past year we have worked closely with residents to help them get their lives back on track and we’ll continue to stand with them as they rebuild their homes by giving advice and support whenever it’s needed.’
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