The £1.7m house whose sea view just got closer:

Home at cliff edge as 15ft garden disappears after landslide

By Luke Salkeld
Last updated at 12:38 AM on 10th February 2011

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A couple who paid £1.7million for a spectacular clifftop home are facing life on the edge after their garden crashed into the sea.

They bought the property only 18 months ago, aware that it had already suffered a devastating landslip in 2007.

By yesterday its value had plummeted by an estimated £600,000 and they face a major bill to stabilise what remains of the cliff following the disappearance of 15ft of garden last week.

On the brink: The £1.7 million property in Dawlish, south Devon, teeters precariously on the edge of the cliff

However, they are still hopeful that the house will remain standing … even though its boundary wall is only a yard away from a dizzying drop.

The property at Dawlish, south Devon, was built by Nick Skilton, managing director of Wessex Products, which supplies hand driers and dispensing machines to the prison service, hospitals and fast-food restaurants.

Despite its apparently precarious position he was granted planning permission in 2005 for a four-bedroom house with glass spiral staircase and indoor pool.

Bit by bit: This picture was taken in 2007 when 80ft of the home's garden plunged into the sea. But the cliff hasn't stopped crumbling

The go-ahead by Teignbridge Council was subject to a number of conditions, including a full report commissioned to establish the safety of the cliff.

However, in February 2007 it suffered a huge landslip, described as the length of ‘two double-decker buses’.

Thousands of tons of earth and several trees disappeared, leaving just a few feet between the end of the property’s tiered garden terrace and the sheer 130ft drop.

Salvage: The owner is getting civil engineers to examine the cliffs in a bid to save her home

After that collapse, Mr Skilton said he was unconcerned and insisted the house was built on solid rock.

He sold the property, which boasts stunning panoramic views of the coast, in 2009.

The new owners are believed to have been assured that only the garden was in danger from the erosion caused by the sea breaking against the foot of the cliff.

All was well until last Wednesday, when a crack appeared in the soil causing a small amount of rubble to fall. This was followed by another massive landslip.

Hundreds of tons of mud, dirt and trees plunged on to the beach as 15ft of the garden disappeared. The property is now thought to be valued at £1.1million.

The female owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: ‘There was an earlier fall about three years ago but this one has brought down at least one tree and it looks like there are several others which could come down.

‘It has worsened since Saturday and we have had metal safety grilles put up. Part of the original garden fence has come down now as well. I imagine it will cost thousands to stabilise the rest of the cliff.’

A spokesman for Teignbridge Council said all conditions had been met at the time which allowed building on the site to go ahead.

A neighbour said: ‘After the 2007 collapse extensive geological tests were done that showed the house was built on a different seam of rock that is far more resilient to erosion.

‘As far as we know the new owners were aware of this when they bought it. Maybe they value sea views more than a garden.’

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