Digging in: Albany landslip residents eye class action lawsuit as Mira Mar homes set for demolition

The Mira Mar landslip crisis could become bogged down in legal action with the City of Albany pushing ahead with plans to demolish two homes this week as residents prepare to launch a class action lawsuit. A State Government commissioned geotechnical report tabled in December recommended the demolition of two destroyed homes on Sleeman Avenue which had been torn apart by the landslip. The demolition would make way for an investigation into the cause of the crisis. Until the homes are demolished they pose a “largely uncontrollable risk”, preventing any safe remediation works or drainage of the landslip, according to the report. Meanwhile, at the base of the landslip, a slow-moving wave of dirt, mud and boulders is threatening to swamp three homes on Anzac Road. Despite being asked to leave, two couples have stayed to try and save their homes as they face walking away with nothing. Their homes are not covered for a landslip under insurance. Anzac Road residents Alan and Judy Smith have been using shovels to dig trenches around the foundations of the two homes and a 20-tonne excavator to move earth — most recently on March 29. Mr Smith said if they had not taken matters into their own hands — at a cost of about $20,000 for machinery — huge 15-20-tonne boulders would have crashed into the foundations of their homes. On April 26, they were issued a notice by the City of Albany to immediately stop all works on the properties, which the City said was delaying the demolition. “We have got land building up at the back there that needs attention and if we don’t provide some sort of mechanical way of getting rid of the soil, we are going to be in trouble,” Mr Smith said. “We had the City down here, overviewing the lot . . . and they didn’t say a thing or weren’t sympathetic to our cause. “Then the next day we got a letter that highlights the fact that all our efforts, it looks like, are going to be in vain.” Mr Smith said the City had missed the window to demolish the homes in the dry summer months and he feared demolishing them now could spell disaster. “They have had so many chances to rectify the problem upstairs and haven’t done it,” he said. “But once those houses are gone there is going to be no action on that property, whether they do testing on that area or what is underneath it, until next summer. “So we have got a whole winter to deal with this like we are at the moment and I would hazard a guess that every month we are going to be spending more money to try and control any movement above us with no help from the City.” City chief executive Andrew Sharpe said the City had issued orders to demolish 10 and 12 Sleeman Avenue because the owners advised they would not be undertaking the demolition work themselves. “Under the Building Act 2011, the City is able to seek to recover the costs of effecting a building order,” he said. Mr Sharpe said the City was notified in February that homeowners on Sleeman Avenue were “unable to comply” with the order requiring them to demolish their houses. He said that after the appointment of a contractor and site investigations, demolition was set to start on April 4. “Due to significant ground movements following private excavations undertaken on the Sleeman Avenue slip zone on March 29, independent geo-technical engineers advised the contracted demolition company that the site was not safe to proceed with the demolition as scheduled,” he said. “The City was disappointed to have delayed the demolition which was on track to be complete prior to Easter and the traditional start of wet weather in Albany. “With the demolition rescheduled to commence this week, the City is hopeful that there is a reprieve in the wet weather and no further private excavation works are undertaken within the slip zone that could further delay the demolition.” Mr Sharpe said geotechnical engineers had advised the removal of materials at the base of the slip zone at Anzac Road “causes an acceleration of land movement”. “It is likely that any works on the base will accelerate the landslip which will significantly delay the scheduled demolition works for 10 and 12 Sleeman Avenue,” he said. “Geotechnical surveying of the landslip cannot occur until these properties are demolished.” The cause of the landslip is in dispute, but a history of ground movement in the area, heavy winter rainfall, and a burst water main on July 30, have all been cited as possible factors. Mr Smith said the owners of three affected homes on Sleeman Avenue and two on Anzac Road had started the process of launching a class action lawsuit against the City and Water Corporation over the landslip. He said although it was early in the process, their legal representation had served a letter of demand to both organisations. “It’s a class action for the cause and once cause has been established or once there is some sort of point where you can say this has been the problem, this is the reason why it is slipping, then some blame can be attributed to that,” he said. “Then after that you can get some retribution . . . be it hopefully financial so at least we can recover what we have put into it.” Mr Sharpe said the City would not comment on legal matters. Water Corporation regional manager Adrian Stewart said he was not aware of any class action. “We appreciate this remains a very difficult situation for residents, and welcome a geotechnical investigation being completed by the Great Southern Development Commission,” Mr Stewart said. “The area around Sleeman Avenue has a documented history of ground movement, including a 2013 report by the City of Albany which recommended actions to prevent further movement, particularly after periods of prolonged heavy rainfall. “Observations suggest significant ground movement, triggered by prolonged, heavy rainfall, was already under way, and caused damage to a water main in the area on July 30, 2021. “The main was promptly isolated and repaired that morning.”