Cleat Hill: most residents evacuated to return home on Friday, in time for Christmas
The cordon will be lifted by 10am, allowing the majority of residents from the 50 households evacuated to return to their properties
Last updated 13th Dec 2024
The majority of residents of the Cleat Hill area of Bedford are to be allowed back into their homes from Friday (13th December).
A police cordon, which had been in place since a fatal house explosion on the 19th of October, will be removed during the morning.
Last week, a number of specialised gas monitors, ordered specifically from Canada, were fitted into properties and subsequently tested.
It is understood experts monitoring the site are satisfied with the current levels of gas, deemed not to raise safety concerns at this point in time.
This was an essential step in ensuring the safe return of residents to their properties.
A number of questions remain unanswered at this stage, and some residents have been advised against returning to their properties, however the news have been hailed by all involved as a long-awaited 'milestone' now reached.
Residents present at one of many meetings organised in an effort to respond to questions raised, and update those concerned on the progress of the situation, thanked the council and those involved, and described feeling 'safe' now that monitors have been installed.
While the cordon will be lifted, a high police presence is still expected in the area, with a cordon surrounding the explosion site.
What happened on Cleat Hill?
Officers were called to Cleat Hill on Saturday October 19th to an explosion and fire at a residential property.
Paul Swales, 85, died at the scene, and Julia Harris, 84, was taken to hospital and later died of aggravated injuries.
A total of 50 households were evacuated that day due to high levels of natural gas found in the area.
The source of the high concentration of gas was identified as a leak of an underground natural pocket of gas, hit in the installation of an underground heat pump earlier this year, evacuated through a borehole.
In July, a gas leaked had already caused the evacuation of some residents of the Cleat Hill area.
Since October, evacuees had been housed in temporary accommodation.
At different stages in the last seven weeks, residents were allowed back into their properties to collect items, some choosing to return home permanently in the last few days despite a cordon still being in place.
An investigation is still ongoing, and an inquest into the deaths of Paul Swales, 85, and Julia Harris, 84, is set for the May 27, Greatest Hits Radio understands.
Who is involved in the ongoing response?
A multi-agency approach has been used since the explosion to address the situation, a one of its kind in the UK.
Those include the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the British Geological Survey (BGS), Bedford Borough Council, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Bedfordshire Police.
Last month, it was confirmed no installation of an underground heat pump through the digging of a borehole had ever caused such an incident, requiring the response in the Cleat Hill incident to be thorough and set a precedent.
Richard Fuller, the MP for North Bedfordshire, offered his full support to residents, and further raised the matter in the House of Commons, and various Government departments, to ensure a tragedy of this nature is not repeated, while offering the most appropriate response to the unique situation on Cleat Hill.
Since then, the borehole in a Cleat Hill garden was filled with cement to seal the pocket of gas, which, following constant monitoring, proved successful in reducing gas levels.
While residents will now be returning to their homes, thorough underground exploration and gas monitoring will continue in the area to ensure gas levels no longer pose a risk.
In-house gas monitoring will further allow residents to be informed of fluctuating levels, with an alarm system triggered if levels reach a safety concern.
In the event of a situation of risk, the safety meeting point for residents is the Mowsbury Park entrance.