Bulldozers demolish cliff top homes near Scarborough (From Gazette & Herald)

Bulldozers demolish cliff top homes at Knipe Point, near Scarborough

7:22am Saturday 23rd February 2013 in News By Haydn Lewis, haydn.lewis@thepress.co.uk

THESE were the scenes as the bulldozers moved in to demolish homes teetering on the edge of a cliff at Knipe Point near Scarborough.

Artist Kane Cunnningham was among those whose homes were demolished yesterday.

He intended to install cameras inside his house to record its last moments and make an artwork out of its demise.

Mr Cunningham bought the house on his credit card for £3,000 in 2009 knowing it had been condemned and was likely to fall into the sea. A few years earlier it had been valued at £160,000.

Writing on his Facebook page, Mr Cunningham said: “The house is a site-specific work of art. It is about the environment, property ownership, life and death. There has been huge interest in the house from people all over the world.

“The cost to demolish the house is also £3,000, so once again this cost will be on my credit card. It seems ironic that issues related to the credit crunch and the banking crisis still exist and are therefore still a concern for the world.”

Mr Cunningham blamed Yorkshire Water and McCain Foods for the earth movement at Knipe Point near Cayton Bay. Another landslide in 2008 led to three other houses in the community being so close to falling into woodland below they had to be bulldozed.

As reported previously, Yorkshire Water has denied its pipes were the cause of landslips after a report commissioned by residents suggested the company’s pipes were at fault.

A spokesman for McCain said: “Like everyone else in Scarborough, we are well aware of the long-standing geological issues at Knipe Point. As we always take community representations seriously, we have asked geologists and other experts to look at the new document paid for by the residents.

‘‘We have also noted their call for us to help them to achieve constructive dialogue with relevant organisations. We will be responding to this.”