Danny Kruger MP has made a public call for local authorities and Government agencies to take action to protect a community which has fallen through the cracks for more than three decades.
Mr Kruger, MP for Devizes, has been campaigning for residents of Victoria Park, in Great Cheverell, since his election in 2019. The estate, made up of 50 households, has been under ownership of the Ministry of Justice, and used to house prison officers working at HMP Erlestoke, next door.
Although the houses are now owned privately by residents, the surrounding land, public open spaces, roads, pavements and streetlights are in the process of transferring ownership between the MoJ and Wiltshire Council. These areas have been neglected and allowed to deteriorate dramatically.
Mr Kruger said: “I have been working with those living in Victoria Park and the Ministry of Justice for many years, as did my predecessor, and I was dismayed to see the condition of the estate when I visited the residents, Wiltshire Councillor and parish council chairman last month (Friday, February 24th). The roads were riddled with cracks and potholes, many pavements have completely eroded, with exposed ironworks, only four out of 13 street lights were working, and the ‘village green’ was laughable - hidden behind iron railings and left to ruin. I am also aware that Wessex Water will not carry out any works for residents - who pay full water rates regardless of the MoJ owning the water system, some of whom have faced sewerage backing up into their homes in recent months. The issues these residents face go far beyond the superficial, and in many cases pose a threat to safety.
“Residents of Victoria Park have fallen between the cracks for too long and I am publicly calling for senior representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Wessex Water, the Environment Agency and Wiltshire Council to meet with me, the head of Victoria Park Residents’ Association and the Wiltshire Councillor for The Lavingtons to finally put in place a strict timeline for works to be carried out. The desired outcome is shared by all parties - for the estate to be brought up to a sufficient standard by the MoJ for Wiltshire Council to adopt it - and it is time for those involved to commit publicly to their plans.”
Des Read, chairman of the Victoria Park Residents’ Association, said: “After decades of neglect by the MoJ, work planned for 2019/20 to achieve adoption by Wiltshire Council has met with a series of postponements; leaving an unsafe environment where residents face sewerage backing up into properties and abandoned contractors building on the Village Green.
“We are caught between the ineptitude of the agencies involved who could and should resolve this situation. We call upon the MoJ, Wiltshire Council, the Environment Agency and Wessex Water to pull out their respective digits, get together and complete the necessary work.”
Wiltshire Councillor for The Lavingtons, Dominic Muns, added: “For too long the residents of Victoria Park have been neglected by the MoJ and seen their roads, pavements, drains and green spaces deteriorate. I am keen to see the area brought up to a suitable standard so that it can be adopted by Wiltshire Council.”
What residents said:
Michael and Elizabeth James said: “We have lived on the estate for 33 years. When we came the estate was immaculate.The Residents Association have expressed concerns over the inaction by the MoJ leading to the neglect of the estate. It is now a disgrace and an embarrassment to live here.We pay our rates, but are treated like second class citizens.”
Terry Froud said: “We bought our house almost forty years ago. The grassed areas and the playing fields were at that time mowed regularly with flower borders and planters around the estate and it was a pleasant place to live.
“In the early days regular minor maintenance kept the roads in a reasonable state of repair, but this has tailed off over the last fifteen to twenty years. More recently, despite regular surveys being carried out to determine the extent of necessary works to the roads and underground services no meaningful work has been carried out leading to the state of dereliction evident in parts of the estate today.”
Sara Cook said: “We have lived in Victoria Park since October 1999, and have brought up our four children here. In those years Victoria Park has deteriorated with holes appearing in the roads and pavements making it unsafe sometimes to walk, cycle and play on. The entrance to the estate is now just a trench alongside the edge of the main road which is causing damage to cars and bikes. My son's motorbike has already had one puncture, costing £70 to replace the tyre. How much more damage will this cause and who should we send the bill to?
“The playing field has been unusable for 3-4 years since the road building equipment was placed there from the last lot of works that didn't happen. The only things that seem to happen is new surveys and new coloured paint and markings on the estate and goodness knows how much money has been wasted on that.
“As homeowners we need Victoria Park to be adopted by Wiltshire council but the infrastructure as it stands is below standard and nobody is taking or sharing responsibility for this, which prevents the adoption proceeding.
Anne Seabourne said: "I feel the MoJ is willing to accept the risk of injury/harm to residents and visitors to Victoria Park through its continued contempt and disregard for our safety or our need to be situated on a site that is safe for all to go about their normal business. It is very demoralising, frightening and depressing to have to live like this and to recognise the true financial impact this continued neglect has on the value of all our homes as well as the risk we take walking on the pavements or stepping out of our homes on dark winter evenings”
