A 'heartbroken' homeowner who runs city businesses may be hit with a £400,000 bill over a collapsed wall after all the financial burden for the catastrophe was placed onto his shoulders.
The retaining wall in Reservoir Lane in Rainbow Hill, Worcester collapsed on Friday, February 9, sending rubble and mud spilling all over the road from Adam Giagnotti's garden above.
Even the sandpit where his children, aged five and eight, play toppled down from the 12 metre high wall into the road below. Fortunately, the family was in bed when disaster struck in the early morning.
Mr Giagnotti, owner of The Olive Branch Mediterranean Bistro and Wine Bar and Impasto, has already faced the trauma of knowing his children could have been killed when the wall collapsed.
They were playing in the sandpit in the garden of his semi-detached home the night before disaster struck.
Now he says he has been told by Worcestershire County Council and insurers the collapsed wall could cost £40,000 to fix - and he will have to pay for it all himself.
Traffic lights remain in place at the junction with Rainbow Hill, causing delays for drivers.
No workmen were on the site on Friday. The site itself, which is fenced off, does not appear significantly different from when the collapse occurred.
The 42-year-old dad-of-two said officially he had not had a quotation but the figure mentioned to him was around £400,000 and has been told the landslide was caused by heavy rain.
"That is the figure. The council has not taken responsibility. They have been useless. They are charging me for everything, including the traffic light system. I'm on my own really. It's not great.
"The council should take responsibility at least for clearing it up and making it safe. We have the correct insurance but they're refusing to pay because they say the wall was inadequate.
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"It's all on me. They should not be charging me for traffic lights. They should be helping me and encouraging me."
Between the businesses, he employs 40 people with any new venture creating an extra 10 jobs.
The businesses have supported a number of charities and good causes including St Richard's Hospice, in Worcester and Oscar Saxelby-Lee during his leukaemia battle.
He understands the collapsed wall was from a 'castle' and he does not understand why he alone is responsible 'for a wall of that age'.
Mr Giagnotti, who says insurers paid out for a previous wall collapse nearby in 1998, said a Go Fund Me page may have to be considered. "I am a businessman but it doesn't mean I have that sort of money, unfortunately. We were trying to open a third venue. That has now had to be put on hold," he said.
They had been looking to open up a new venue in New Street in Worcester and is concerned he will have to 'sell everything' to cover the costs.
He added: "It's not my business money that can solve this - I have to find this money personally. Emotionally this has broken me and my family. Their sandpit was on top of the wall. That's the only thing that has kept me going, knowing they're not dead."
A previous wall collapse happened there in 1998 following flooding and took months to repair.
A petition has been set up on change.org - Mr Giagnotti said he had not set it up himself but was aware of it.
The online petition, started by Geoff Cruze, said: "An historic wall has collapsed in Worcester and the local council have pushed the problem on to the home owner whose house is built way above, the home owner has approached his home insurance but they say it’s not covered by their insurance as the wall is outside of his boundary line which has left the owners of what the local council call “Historic” as it was part of a castle wall many many years ago.
"The estimated repair bill is in the region of four hundred thousand pounds and both the insurance company and council have wiped their hands of the bill and passed it all on to the owner, who on earth has that kind of money and could raise that kind of money, we and so do many feel that the council and insurance company need to do something about this issue and quickly before the unsafe ground causes serious injury."
A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “We acknowledge that a petition has been set up regarding the collapsed wall in Reservoir Lane. We will now consider the further information provided.”
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