RESIDENTS of a terrace in Callington are being asked to leave their homes by Cornwall Council as they are deemed to be unsafe and will be demolished.

Urban Terrace, a row of 15 houses — of which five are privately owned and the rest council-owned, received hand-posted letters last week from the council asking its tenants to move out by Christmas due to the houses being deemed ‘unsafe’.

Homeowners were given letters asking to have mundic testing done because of a ‘deterioration of the foundations’ as the terrace was built in mundic block.

Roger Denley, who has lived in his house for nearly 50 years, first renting it before buying the property, said the council stated in the letter that mundic tests had already been carried out on the council-owned properties and invited him to have his house tested.

‘It’s all very up in the air at the moment. It’s upsetting everyone quite a bit,’ he said.Most mundic block houses are not mortgageable but Roger said he had a test done on his and it was classed as category A which was mortgageable. After contacting the council, he found out that they were prepared to pay the homeowners ‘market value’ for the houses, which was much less than his was worth.‘We’ve lived here for nearly 50 years,’ said Roger. ‘Our mortgage is paid off now — my wife worked until she was 70 for us to be able to be mortgage free. This will be our daughter’s inheritance. We’re both in our mid 70s and I don’t fancy moving at this point in my life. We’re going to sit tight.’In response to the Times, Cornwall Council said officers were alerted to the issue after reports of damp in two of the properties and further surveys revealed problems in 13 others. Cornwall Housing determined the properties were no longer safe to live in due to ‘structural instability’ and said the homes would be demolished once all were vacated.Cornwall Council cabinet member for Homes Andrew Mitchell said: ‘My sympathies go out to those affected. While their safety is our utmost priority, I appreciate that losing your home and having to relocate is incredibly distressing and this must be heartbreaking.’He said they would try to find suitable homes as close as possible to their current residence or an alternative area of their choice and that given the challenging timescale, they were renting private accommodation for the residents as a stop-gap. If tenants are temporarily housed further away from services like their school or GP surgery, the council will provide transport.Cornwall Housing will be providing support to private homeowners on finding a new home in their preferred area, offering a free survey from the council and discussions about compensation for the loss of the property.The council said it believed this to be an isolated case and while there were no concerns currently in other areas, Cornwall Housing would monitor the situation.