Distressed residents have raised concerns after a landslide destroyed a 70ft-high wall and five families were evacuated in the middle of the night.
Emergency services rescued the families from four separate properties in Spalding Road and Windmill Lane, in St Ann’s, on February 3.
Nottinghamshire Police said no-one was injured and some evacuees returned to their homes at 6am the same day.
However, residents have expressed their concerns about their safety.
Tnaya Rue Ball, 25, has been a resident on Windmill Lane for four months, said it is not the first time that incidents like this have occurred in the area.
She said: “The wall fell down over a year ago during a storm but it fell towards Windmill Lane and into our back alley and not down towards Spalding Road, luckily.”
Despite receiving letters from Nottingham City Council about the repairs that were due to be made, nothing has happened since, residents say.
Tnaya added: “We received letters saying it was to be fixed as soon as they could but this hasn’t happened.
“The rubble [from the previous fall] wasn’t even cleared away and it fell into a few houses’ gardens.”
Tnaya said that the incident affected her even more during lockdown and has called on the council to take immediate action.
She added: “During lockdown which is already stressful, we only had access to a small amount of our garden.
“I’m not surprised the rest of the wall fell down, it was bound to happen soon as we are on a hill.
“It’s frustrating as it’s the same wall that previously collapsed,” she said.
She added: “It’s awful. So many people could have been hurt.
“I hope [the city council] responds soon, it will be interesting to find out the reason why our road was left without any clean-up or repairs.”
Other residents echoed Tnaya’s concerns.
Local political organiser Andy Chambers, 53, said: “I heard something at around 2 in the morning, but I didn’t realise it was that bad.
“The halfway and the back fence have always been very dodgy, and repairs were due to be made.
“I’m a tenant, so it’s not affecting me, but the landlord must be very upset.”
Building society worker Donna Coventry, 54, lives next door to where the wall collapsed on Wednesday morning.
She said she feared the damage could affect the entire structure that supports the building on this road.
Donna said: “The council was supposed to repair the back wall that’s supporting the building during the summer.
“But they didn’t – and obviously that will affect everyone.”
However, the city council reassure residents that efforts are being made to support the local community after the incident.
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “We are doing all we can to provide help and support for residents affected by the collapse of a large wall in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“This was an awful incident where everyone is relieved there have been no injuries, but which has left households already coping with lockdown with significant issues to deal with.
“Boundary and retaining walls are generally the responsibility of property owners and we believe this to be the case here, but in situations like this, councils have the powers to carry out work which ensures people’s safety, with the ability to recover costs.”
“We are now focused on assessing the condition of the affected gardens and properties and making the area safe before turning our attention to the clear-up work.”
The city council addressed the concerns about previous incidents and work that was due to be made.
They added: “There were no repairs to this wall scheduled to take place last summer.
“A different section of wall nearby has some remedial work scheduled which is yet to get underway.
By Olimpia Zagnat
