Black Country News: Families win fight; WOLVERHAMPTON: Homes battle latest.

Byline: By Steve Johnson 

TWELVE householders living on contaminated land in Wolverhampton are to have their homes bought at full market value, it was revealed today.

Families living in Cromer Gardens and Welbury Gardens, on the Farndale estate next to Dunstall Park racecourse, were celebrating the news today after a long fight for compensation.

The families, who live on the former Courtaulds' Dunstall Hall site, will have their homes bought and a further five families living in Wolverhampton Council properties will be rehoused by Wolverhampton Homes.

Akzo Nobel, who took over Courtaulds, launched an investigation in conjunction with Wolverhampton Council into the presence of carbon disulphide underneath the houses in the autumn of 2005. The company alerted the council to the possible presence of the substance, which was used in the manufacture of viscose rayon.

The investigation has involved testing in over 200 gardens and further air testing in some homes.

Last summer, most of the estate was declared clear of the substance. High levels were found in a small number of gardens, but no health risk to residents was found.

The council and Akzo Nobel have now announced a project to destroy carbon disulphide found underground.

City council leader Coun Roger Lawrence said this would lift any perceived blight and give residents a fresh start.

The legal agreement signed between the company and the city council means Akzo Nobel will remove the substance.

Akzo Nobel is funding the multimllion pound two-year project, with the city council contributing up to pounds 2 million.

Where necessary, the company will purchase houses at full market values.