Please note that names in italics are fictional for legal purposes.
On Tuesday night September 29th 1977 my wife Gemma drove to Killyleagh to visit her mother. Just after she left I telephoned a friend, Laurence Noade, and asked him if he could come to No. 56 as I needed a little help. We lifted the carpet in the hallway and with some effort eased the staircase out from the wall that the smoke was coming from. We just kept prising the staircase away from the wall as we followed the smoke to its source. The heat in the wall told us where the fireplace of No. 54 was situated. In the half light on one side of the fireplace where there was no plaster there were large holes in the wall and the surrounding area was blackened by the smoke which had been coming out of the holes for so long. With the help of a torch we saw that most of the wall between the staircase and the wall was not covered by plaster and the wall itself was actually built with blocks with large holes in them. Laurence and I were almost speechless.
During the 1960's the late Lord Faulkner was involved in bringing much needed industry to Northern Ireland. As Mr. Brian Faulkner, Minister for Commerce, he helped create certain needs which were satisfied locally, bringing employment in supply industries. One of those supply industries was situated in Killough, a village just several miles from Downpatrick where DDC has its headquarters. I have been told that the clay around Killough is totally unsuitable for the manufacture of the common nine inch by four and a half inch by three inch solid clay brick used legally in the construction of dwelling houses. It seems that when the Killough clay was used to make these solid bricks, the bricks were too brittle and cracked badly. The Killough clay was deemed suitable however for the manufacture in the early 1960's of a material, not for building, but for saving concrete in the floors of multi-storied buildings such as office blocks, hospitals and schools etc., and at the same time soundproofing one floor from another.
This material was called Terralux. Bricklayers in the building trade called them "biscuits". This material measures twelve inches long by six inches high by four inches deep and is nothing more than a half inch shell of burnt clay with a further half inch thick cross-section creating four long openings the full twelve inch length of the blocks which were left open at both ends. Many farmers have used these blocks for drainage purposes in fields and for floors in pig houses to keep the pig's feet warm.
A massive amount of these blocks were manufactured at Killough covering acres of ground, but as the '60's were coming to an end so was the need for Terralux. The Troubles were just beginning, the Stormont Government was facing a storm and the mini boom in the economy of Northern Ireland was being depressed. The brickworks in Killough closed in 1969. The millions of Terralux blocks piled high on acres of ground at the brickworks had no place to go. The legal authority in Co. Down found a place for them and here were hundreds of them in my otherwise beautiful home.
Now I knew why DDC's Public Health inspectors had refused to take the legal action they were duty bound to take. Now I knew why Cllr. Sloan had changed his mind when he was confronted with the problem in public debate in the Council chamber and probably after someone had had a word in his ear. Now I knew why Alfie Jameson had not answered my letter nor raised his usually outspoken voice in my favour at the same meeting. Now I knew why the NHBC would not admit to a structural defect nor even have someone inspect the house. NHBC didn't have to inspect the house to see what was wrong.
If, as was written into the NHBC ten year protection certificate, NHBC officers had periodically inspected No. 56, those officers could not have missed the fact that Terralux blocks were being used in the construction of this block of four houses and if those officers had neglected to inspect the four houses, DDC would have told them what was wrong when DDC told the NHBC in writing that all four houses had the same complaint.
Now I knew why solicitor Peter Fitzpatrick who did the conveyancing would not get involved.
Now I knew why the Belfast Community Law centre had told me in the spring of 1977 that the case was too big for anyone there to take on.
Now I knew why Messrs. King and Boyd, solicitors, had kept putting me off week after week during the summer of 1977 until I felt I had wasted enough time travelling to Downpatrick.
Now I knew why Enoch Powell MP would not get involved.
I went straight to the RUC station in Ballynahinch the following morning. I knew for certain now that there was very dirty business involved, but the officer in charge insisted that my problem was a civil matter. I rang Cllr. Eddie McVeigh who lived in Ballynahinch and in a very short time he was in No. 56. At his request Public Health Inspector Jones and Building Control Officer Milligan arrived a short time later. The Council men looked at the smoky holes in the wall and then at each other and they never spoke. They just stood there and their gaze went back to the wall. Cllr. McVeigh said,
"Right boys, what are you going to do about it?"
After what seemed a much longer time than the two minutes or so that went by in silence, Cllr. McVeigh repeated his question with a note of impatience. Still the Council men never spoke. After another few minutes Cllr. McVeigh asked the two professional officers the same question for a third time. When he still received no reply Cllr. McVeigh turned, opened our front door and left with two very embarrassed men trailing after him. What was said some distance from No. 56 I do not know but I do know that if anything had to be said very few could say it better than Eddie McVeigh.
Even to my non-professional eye the blocks in the wall dividing No. 56 from No. 54 should not have been near a fireplace. The building contractor, Mr. Brown, had told my wife to go and see DDC since they had passed these houses and not come crying to him. I was not surprised that DDC did not take effective action at their next meeting since I could now see their dilemma. In Mr. Jones's letter to me dated April 25th 1977, he stated that the Council could not take legal action just on the hearsay of an individual.
That meant that the council could take legal action on factual evidence. I found out that the Council could take legal action in the court to cause my neighbour to stop his nuisance of coal smoke from entering my home through the party wall, that is the wall dividing and separating No. 56 from No. 54, but now that the cause of the nuisance had been identified as the use of terralux blocks which were put there by the builder and allowed to be put there by the builder, wrongfully, by the local Building Control Officers, Down District Councillors would have had to instruct their Public Health inspectors to take my neighbour to Court to have him forced to repair a fault in his fireplace and chimney breast which the Building Control Officers now employed by DDC had passed as without such a fault. In fact and in practice DDC would have ended up causing one of its departments to prosecute another of its departments. My neighbour, my immovable neighbour in No. 54, and his solicitor would have made fools of Down District Councillors and they knew it. The Council had to stall and stall it did.
A letter, copied to me anonymously much later, was sent to the Smoke Advisory Service by Mr. Jones the Council's Chief Public Health Inspector (CPHI) dated October 4th 1977. The letter read;
"Dear sir/madam, No 56 Carlisle Park Ballynahinch I understand that Mr. Lamont has been in touch with your Mr. Fisher with regard to a complaint of smoke entering the above house from an apparent defect in the flue of the adjoining house, No. 54 Carlisle Park. The smoke appears to be entering the house through terralux bricks which adjoin the flue at the base. It would be appreciated if you would arrange for your flue consultant to visit and give advice on this matter and inform Mr. Lamont or myself when the visit can take place. Yours faithfully G. Jones. District Chief Public Health Inspector."
With this letter Mr. Jones confirmed that the second smoke test referred to in his letter to my wife dated June 15th 1977 was, as my wife and I maintained, improperly carried out and especially so since the owner of the defective fireplace polluting our home was actively involved in carrying it out, but of course this was a deliberate ploy at the time by officials in a corner. Not only had the fact that the four houses had the same complaint been put in writing, but here in writing also was the cause of the complaint identified in a confidential letter by the District CPHI.
Instead of presenting this information to the Smoke Advisory Service which seems to have been a branch of the well-known Coal Advisory Service, Mr. Jones should have been presenting it as evidence in the local Court since this was no longer hearsay.
Eventually when he said he asked for a Statutory Notice to be issued as in the case of the Lisbane Road dump, Down District Councillors were to refuse it, but this Council/Council Official interaction will be seen to have been just another ploy in a most daring and carefully orchestrated cover-up which for many years has also required the professional services of solicitors, barristers, courts, civil servants, government agencies, politicians, estate agents, surveyors and others to maintain.
On October 20th 1977 the Mourne Observer reported on Down District Council's debate of my case at their meeting on October 17th 1977, under the heading,
"Ballynahinch Smoke Nuisance - Experts called in."
After an introduction the report went on.
"Apparently smoke from No. 54 owned by Mr. Joyce is entering Mr. Rice's house, and Mr. Rice claims that this is the fault of the Council, for not taking appropriate action under the Building Control and Public Health laws... Mr. Garth Jones the chief Public Health Officer gave a detailed report to the Council on Monday night in which he stated that there was a slight defect at the rear of Joyce's flue, and that when wind blew in certain quarters a small amount of smoke did enter Mr. Rice's house. He said that if the Council took action against Mr. Joyce, the latter could claim that Mr. Rice had contributed to the problem by removing part of the party wall at the rear of the flue. He felt that action might have to be taken against both parties, but suggested that the Council await the recommendations of the Technical officer from the Coal Board".
By that time I was getting used to such rubbish being uttered by DDC officials. At least I was making them talk and making them talk in the Council Chamber about my case. The minutes of that meeting record that Mr. Jones's suggestion was, quote,
"Unanimously agreed to on the proposal of Councillor Smyth P.J. seconded by Councillor Smyth E.M. to await the advice of the Coal Advisory Board."
At this same meeting the Council heard a Report from Mr. Jones on the Alleged Public Health Nuisance at Lisbane Road, Saintfield. The minutes record that a Statutory Notice had been served in respect of nuisance at Lisbane Road, Saintfield caused by uncontrolled dumping and burning of material at Craignasasonagh dump. It was stated that the Notice had not been fully complied with nor the nuisance abated and asked that consideration of the matter be deferred until the next meeting of the Council.
Mr. Jones's Report was unanimously accepted by the Council.
I rang the NSPCC because of my fear for my wife and children and as the time for my wife's confinement was getting closer I knew that the Council was not going to do its duty in time.
A Mr. Pat Connolly visited us from the NSPCC but said he could not see how he could possibly help. He said he could recommend a good solicitor and gave us the name and address of Mr. James Chambers in Downpatrick. He also said that he was not related to the solicitor. Within a short time we met Mr. James Chambers and he took up our case. Mr. Chambers was now our fifth solicitor in less than a year.
The banner headline on the front page of the Belfast Telegraph on October 27th 1977 read,
"COUNCILS SHOCK".
The sub-title stated in large print,
"BUILDING FAULTS MAY HIT RATES".
The Belfast Telegraph's local government correspondent David Watson reported that District Councils in Northern Ireland were being stripped of insurance cover guarding them against mistakes made by their building inspectors. I found this very interesting indeed, and I learned a lot more about how local government was meant to work. The article explained that in the case of Annes and Others v London Merton Borough Council, the House of Lords Appeal ruling against Merton Borough Council meant that in future, Councils were to be made responsible for the mistakes of their Building Control Officers. The Appeal Judges were not unanimous in relation to the time within which action could be taken against councils by house-holders but a majority decision specified six years from the time that the "mistakes" were made. One town clerk told the Belfast Telegraph correspondent,
"This subject is a hot potato, and is causing great heart searching among Councils. There are great difficulties involved. We are in a state of flux and waiting to make various representations about cover. Another (Council Clerk) put it more bluntly:'If you don't get insurance cover it means a burden on the ratepayers. If we are found liable for defects in one house it could cost £10,000 to the Council, but how could we as a Council afford to saddle rate-payers with the cost of an even larger award?' Belfast, because of its size, carries its own indemnity but the province's other Councils operate within five regional building control groups, and have been insured against any mistakes."
The article went on,
"Each regional group represents building control staff from four to six councils, but the individual council is responsible for its own insurance cover. The South-Eastern group, which covers North Down, Ards, Castlereagh, Lisburn and Down councils, is one area where insurance cover has either been withdrawn or is threatened."
The Belfast Telegraph is a much respected newspaper. For that reason I had no doubt that the contents of that article were true. I still have that original front-page article, now over 23 years old. So the work done by Building Control Officers attached to and employed by DDC work required by law and paid for by massive amounts of money taken by force of law from rate-payers, was so shoddy, ineffective and lax that even an insurance company was refusing to provide insurance cover for these professional people. They were just a bad risk and it must be remembered that DDC was also the headquarters of the South-Eastern group of five District Councils. I did wonder what I was really getting involved in. Some years later DDC voted to impose an additional and separate charge for their 'services' on each ratepayer requiring these services, and on one occasion at least, a Building Control Officer added his own personal and private charge for which he was punished by the law.
It was most unusual for Gemma to be confined to bed even during a pregnancy. Around this time she was not only in bed but our doctor had prescribed valium. There were nine children to be looked after and our eldest girl, then aged thirteen coped wonderfully well ably assisted by her second-in-command one year and two weeks younger. One of my favourite dishes has always been bread pudding with currants, raisons, sultanas, nutmeg, egg white etc., and the eldest girls became really good at preparing it. Nowadays I seem to be the only member of our large family who still likes it! On either the Thursday or Friday evening the 3rd or 4th of November 1977 we saw a car we recognised parked outside No. 54. After watching for about an hour, two men left Mr. Joyce's house, walked to the car and drove off. The two men were Cllr. Danny Sloan and Mr. Garth Jones CPHI. It was to be twenty months later with the publication of the Commissioner for Complaints Report CC 19/78 that I was to begin the long process of understanding the significance of the reasons for the visit of these two men to No.54 and to realise the effort which both Councillors and their officers had put into this whole affair, not to resolve it justly, but to frustrate justice being done, to cover up 'mistakes', and to violate the duty imposed upon them by the law they were legally bound to uphold. This effort has been so successful that at the time of typing this into my new computer in the year 2000, the cover-up of what has now been recognised as the biggest house-building fraud in the United Kingdom will be entering its twenty fifth year at the beginning of December 2000.
Councillor Jameson was the only Councillor absent from Down District Council's meeting on November 7th 1977. This was the Monday after Cllr. Sloan and Mr. Jones visited No. 54. The minutes at 24/12(a) read;
"Alleged Public Health Nuisance, 56 Carlisle Park, Ballynahinch (HW/1476) The Chairman reported that prior to the meeting a letter had been handed in from the owner of 54 Carlisle Park. Ballynahinch concerning this item. The District Chief Public Health Inspector notified that he had compiled a dossier of events regarding the alleged smoke nuisance at 56 Carlisle Park Ballynahinch which comprised 4 pages. Action: Agreed on the proposal of Councillor Bicker seconded by Councillor Smyth P.J. to defer consideration of the Report until the next Meeting of the Council and that copies of the letter received together with the District Chief Public Health Inspector's dossier be circulated to Members in advance of the meeting,"
The next item on the same minutes at 24/12(b) read;
"Alleged Public health Nuisance, Lisbane Road, Saintfield (HW/1065) The District Chief Public Health Inspector referred to Council meeting 17th October 1977 (Ref. 23/12) and reported that on further inspection, he was satisfied that the nuisance had now been abated. He recommended that no further action be taken in respect of the Statutory Notice served. Action: Unanimously agreed that the recommendation of the District Chief Public Health Inspector be approved."
Paragraph 15 of Commissioner for Complaints Report CC 19/78 states;
"The Council at its next meeting, on 21 November, after considerable discussion decided that the Clerk to the Council together with Building Control and Public Health Officers should meet with the owners of the properties and the building contractor to seek a solution to the problem of the alleged smoke nuisance and that failing agreement the owners should be advised to seek legal advice."
No mention here of a Statutory Notice being served. According to paragraphs 16 &17 of CC 19/78 the documents presented to DDC at their meeting on November 21st 1977 included the detailed dossier prepared by Mr. Jones, a letter from Mr. Joyce dated November 7th 1977 and the report from the Coal Advisory Service. Mr. Joyce's letter was received in time for the Council meeting so obviously this letter was not posted in the normal way. My information is that Cllr. Sloan handed this letter in to DDC headquarters that day. It is a co-incidence of major importance that Cllr. Sloan had visited Mr. Joyce's house just a few days earlier in the company of Mr. Jones. Mr. Joyce's letter was critical of the type of brick used in his chimney (see paragraph 16 CC 19/78), he had co-operated fully with the Health Authorities, he had sealed the ends of the cavity type bricks at the back of his fireplace, that the test Mr. Joyce was involved in had shown that smoke was not escaping into my house from No. 54 and that since I had opened up my half of the party wall it had damaged his half of the party wall and caused the recurrence of the problem. Did Mr. Joyce write this letter? Did he write it of his own volition? Was he asked to write it by Cllr. Sloan and Mr. Jones on the occasion of their visit to No. 54? Was he asked if he would attend a meeting to be specified by the Council at their meeting a few days after the visit to No. 54? Was the letter written because Mr. Joyce was not prepared to attend such a meeting and if so why did the Council then propose such a meeting? Did Cllr. Sloan, Mr. Jones and Mr. Joyce all compose this letter? Notwithstanding the intransigent stand attributed to Mr. Joyce in this letter and his refusal to allow Council Inspectors into his house when smoke was acknowledged to be entering No. 56 from No. 54 on August 24th 1977, DDC decided that this meeting referred to in paragraph 15 of CC 19/78 should be held. DDC had a very good reason for having such a meeting, it was to play a very important part in their cover-up and was to keep them one step ahead of the law. Even though Mr. Jones put in writing to the Coal Advisory Service that smoke appeared to be entering No. 56 from the fireplace of No. 54 through terralux bricks which adjoin the flue at the base, putting the blame on the use or rather the misuse of terralux, he stated in his dossier that climatic conditions were the cause of the smoke nuisance. His statement in the dossier that,
"The terralux brick placed lengthways along the rear of the fireplace opening is not a satisfactory feature as there is no second line of defence against a small leakage that would be given by solid bricks",
is totally untrue. When I removed a section of my half of the party wall it was seen that there were solid bricks at the rear of Joyce's fireplace. The smoke problem was caused by the terralux blocks on either side of the solid bricks and the terralux that formed the jambs of Joyce's fireplace and as we were to find out at a later date the terralux that formed the whole interior structure of each of the four houses. In fact and in practice the whole party wall was acting as a chimney for the smoke from each fireplace in each house and because the terralux blocks created a link with all four houses, any one fire could quite easily pollute one or all of the four houses, but it was some time before I knew this. I was rather interested that a Public Health Inspector and not a Building Control Officer was dealing with such a technical building matter.