Petworth woman’s ‘horrendous’ wait for repairs after car crashes into her home

A grandmother whose Petworth home was damaged when a car crashed into it more than six months ago said the long wait for repairs had been ‘horrendous’.
Repairs have started this week at her homeRepairs have started this week at her home
Repairs have started this week at her home

Katja Consentius was in her kitchen when a car came crashing through two bollards and into her home in Park Road in July last year.

The brickwork below her bay window was impacted, and Katja said living with the damage had left her depressed and suffering from panic attacks.

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“It was horrendous,” she said. “The cold air was coming in, the radiator had fallen off from the inside and I didn’t have any hot water to start with.

Repairs are taking place at the Park Road homeRepairs are taking place at the Park Road home
Repairs are taking place at the Park Road home

“It was cold and I didn’t have any proper heating downstairs. It’s been a bit of a nightmare.”

She was also concerned about traffic fumes coming into her home.

“Just living in this sort of situation, it’s not very pleasant,” she said.

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“I can’t think about having a holiday, I can’t think about having a birthday party.”

Home owner Katja ConsentiusHome owner Katja Consentius
Home owner Katja Consentius

Repair works finally started this week and a road closure has been put in place until tomorrow.

Katja is staying at the nearby Angel Inn for two weeks while the works take place.

She said hers was not the only property in Petworth to have been damaged by vehicles, and said many homes along her road had suffered ‘scratching’ from lorries and cars.

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“So many places in Petworth have been damaged,” she said. “There’s a pub that’s been bashed into three times, a little shop where the glass window has been damaged.”

Katja with the damage to her home in July last yearKatja with the damage to her home in July last year
Katja with the damage to her home in July last year

And Katja is convinced that the traffic problem in Petworth is getting worse.

“Nobody stops the traffic coming along, it speeds along like hell,” she said.

“The traffic has to be calmed down in Petworth. Everyone is in danger.”

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She said roads in the town were not designed to handle so much traffic and, while visitors were needed to help keep businesses going, she said most people who drove through the town did not stop in it.

Katja with the damaged brickworkKatja with the damaged brickwork
Katja with the damaged brickwork

She said many Petworth residents were angry about the traffic situation, adding: “I keep saying let’s come together and make a group and say something.”

A Petworth Town Council spokesman said it had been lobbying and working with West Sussex County Council, which is responsible for highways, to ensure the highways in the town were ‘as safe as possible’ for residents and visitors.

“Together with the county council, we have developed and funded a programme of works to introduce a range of traffic calming measures, some of which have been implemented and others which are in the development stage and will be introduced over the coming months,” the spokesman said.

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