Couple discover dream home could be flattened - two weeks after moving in

John Venables and Alex Hayden spent £450,00 on their dream home in Orsett in Essex. They moved in, and had almost finished unpacking the last of the boxes two weeks later, when they got a letter out of the blue saying that the government might be planning to demolish their home.

44-year-old John and 48-year-old Alex told the Daily Mail they no idea this was the remotest possibility, especially since they had moved into a brand new semi-detached house. Their solicitor had done all the usual searches when they were looking into the purchase, and nothing like this had shown up.
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The letter

However, the letter explained that the government wants to build a Lower Thames crossing - connecting Essex and Kent - and as part of the work, their property - and six others on the development - may have to be demolished. In total 300 people have received this letter.

The letter makes it clear that a final decision has not been made, but that their house is very close to one of the potential places they could build the road, and they are being invited to respond to the suggestion. The consultation will take place until 24 March, and Highways England will then take up to a year to make a decision.

It adds: "I understand this will probably be very upsetting, and I am very sorry for any concern this may cause you. We want to work closely with the public to determine the best solution, but inevitably people will be affected by the new road."

Fighting

The couple told the Daily Star they were devastated. Alex said: "We were showing our house off and talking about what we could do with the place and then 'bang', everything changes. We've still got boxes everywhere but is there any point in unpacking?'

The couple said they would fight the proposals. At the moment the government is considering three options. John and Alex would be affected by option C - a tunnel that would land in between Tilbury and East Tilbury, then run through Chadwell St Mary, Orsett and Ockendon before joining the M25.

John and Alex have a great deal of support from locals, who will see their homes demolished, or would find themselves living beside an enormous busy road as a result of the changes.

Residents affected by Option C on both sides of the river have launched campaigns, including a Facebook group, a Twitter account and an online petition that has attracted more than 9,000 signatures. They have attended public meetings and voiced their concerns to MPs. However, they faced a blow at the end of January, when the government said its preferred option was C.

Perhaps it's realism rather than defeatism that makes Alex say: "I know deep in my heart we are not going to win this."