NSW government offers to help investigate ‘sinking’ homes in Jordan Springs East
The NSW government has offered to help investigate issues at a brand-new community development in Western Sydney where residents are concerned their houses are sinking into the ground.
NSW
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The NSW government has offered to help investigate issues at a brand-new community development in Western Sydney, where residents fear their houses are sinking into the ground.
Jordan Springs East, 7km northeast of Penrith, is owned by project developer Lendlease and is part of Jordan Springs, which will eventually be home to 13,000 residents.
But issues relating to “ground settlement” have taken the shine off the new precinct despite Lendlease insisting residents have nothing to fear.
Two worried residents told The Daily Telegraph the land under their driveways has started “sinking”, with one saying the earth had dropped “more than a foot” over the past year.
An empty house owned by Lendlease on 59 Armoury Rd – which is the focus of the settlement issues – was demolished on December 16, according to Penrith City Council.
Around the same time, a section of that road was closed between Navy Rd and Private Cct.
A council spokeswoman said they were first notified of the demolition on December 11 – just days before it was carried out.
She said council was seeking to determine the cause of the settlement on Armoury Rd from the developer “as a high standard of quality must be maintained for development in our city”.
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A Department of Planning, Industry and Environment spokeswoman said while the body was not responsible for assessing or approving buildings within Jordan Springs East it “will provide assistance with the investigations to Penrith City Council if requested”.
“The NSW government is committed to ensuring all residential buildings are safe, structurally sound and free from major defects,” she added.
Lendlease’s senior development manager Kevin Montier said the company was “aware of incidents of settlement on and close to Armoury Rd” but stressed they “do not present a safety risk”.
But he refused to answer questions regarding the cause of the issue or how many houses have been impacted, saying only that investigations are “ongoing”.
“Our customers and their safety are our priority,” Mr Montier said.
“While the house at 59 Armoury Road was repairable and safe, we determined that it was unlikely to meet Lendlease’s expectation of quality.”
A series of geotechnical investigations on Armoury Rd have been carried since 2018 in addition to rectification works.
Mr Montier said he anticipated the road would be reopened “early in the year”.
Local resident Sandeep Kumar, who lives nearby on Navy Rd, said the land in his front yard had sunk more than a foot since he first moved into his home about 12 months ago.
He said Lendlease had checked for cracks inside his house, which they did not find, but didn’t address the sinking land under his driveway.
“I had to use two tonnes of soil just to fill the sinkage, and it’s not just me,” he said.
“The two houses up from me have similar problems.”
Mr Montier said some settlement in new developments was “expected”, adding: “Geotechnical engineers confirmed (his) property doesn’t have issues caused by settlement beyond what would be expected and he’s been advised as such”.
He also said the “localised issue” under the driveway was the result of backfilling following construction of a sewer line at that location, and that Lendlease was in ongoing contact with Mr Kumar about the situation.
Another Navy Rd resident, Andy Villegas, said he first noticed the earth under his front yard was sinking after he bought property.
“The rain came and everything sank,” he said.
“We got the builders to refill it but it happened again.”
He said Lendlease came and filled up the ground but the driveway still sank.
“It sank for a bit and then we took some dirt that we could find and put it in and fixed it up.
“It still sinks from time to time.”
Mr Villegas is now waiting for Lendlease to come and assess the ground again next week.