ONE HOMEOWNER at a stricken development in Armou village in Paphos is being forced to place a warning sign stating ‘enter at your own risk’ on his gate post, as the gaping holes directly outside his front door pose a serious danger to visitors to his property.
“I have to put up a sign pointing out that visitors are entering at their own risk as I obviously don’t have public liability insurance and we have huge holes right outside our front door, which are extremely dangerous,” Simon Phillips said.
Two of the holes are cavernous and measure three quarters of a metre wide and three metres in depth. All six homes in the recently built development in Paphos continue to slip down the hillside, and officials are concentrating on efforts to find a solution for the desperate homeowners.
Phillips’ house is in the picturesque village of Armou and is part of an estate which is in imminent danger of collapse after it was constructed on land locals had long been warned was unsafe. The president of Paphos’ architects and civil engineers association, Chrysostomos Italos was contacted by a number of the home owners to prepare a report, which he says he will present to them this week.
The development was built by JNM developers. The Sunday Mail has been unable to contact them for a comment. A number of the homeowners have issued court proceedings against the developer. All of the houses have serious structural problems, from slanting floors, to the partial collapse of stairs, walls, swimming pools and patio areas.
Outside drains are now exposed in one garden and retaining walls have split. Electricity poles in the area are also now leaning at an angle. One family was forced to leave their home, which they rented, a couple of weeks ago, as it was deemed unsafe by officials and is now visibly on a slant. The six houses have continued to move down the hillside in the past couple of weeks.
Two of the access roads to the development are currently impassable with giant gaps in both, the third is barely useable. Italos said he had finished the report but would not give any details until he has handed it over to the owners. “I can say that in my opinion, the developer is responsible, but I have been unable to get hold of him,” he said.
“I have also spoken to the Paphos district office and urged them to act as fast as they can in this matter and do something to help these people. They also confirmed that they would be taking legal action against the developer and any other responsible person concerning the dire situation in Armou.”
Homeowner Geoff Higgs said, “The land movement seems to have slowed down considerably in the last couple of weeks, but saying that, there is still movement there. I have been undertaking some ‘botch’ repair jobs on the tiles around my swimming pool and on my top outdoor step, as the tiles have now cracked.”
Higgs and his wife Maggie have already had to replace their swimming pool and carry out other works at their property, caused by the land slip.
