A PLAN to decontaminate the gardens of a housing estate in Gunnislake to make them safe to use for the first time has been hampered by an unsuccessful bid for cash.

Cornwall Council's bid for a grant to the Environment Agency towards remediation works at Sand Hill Park, which was built on the site of a former railway station used for transporting arsenic, has failed, the authority has confirmed.

The work, for which planning permission is being sought, is expected to cost in the region of £500,000 and residents have been told they may have to pick up some of the tab themselves, despite saying they were unaware of the contamination issues when they bought their homes.

The reasons why the bid failed are not yet clear but officers from Public Health and Protection said the project remained a priority.

Sand Hill Park was granted planning permission in 2001 and included conditions to remove the contaminated material and replace with clean top-soil and fencing to prevent access to the railway embankment. The developers failed to carry out various works, have since gone bankrupt and can therefore no longer be pursued by Cornwall Council.

The council said the legislation stated if the person who was responsible for the contamination could not be found legally then the liability must fall onto the current landowners.

The site was officially registered as contaminated land under the Environment Protection Act in July 2011 making the homes at Sand Hill Park effectively unmortageable. Residents have been warned their gardens are a health risk.

Assistant head of public health and protection at Cornwall Council Rebecca Kirk said: 'We have been contacted informally by the Environment Agency who have told us that we have been unsuccessful in our bid for the grant towards remediation works.

'However, we are still waiting for formal confirmation from the Environment Agency with the reasons as to why the grant application was not successful.  Once we have this notification it will give us a clearer picture of what our next steps will be regarding this matter. 

'In the meantime the planning application which was due to be considered by the planning committee in August has been deferred. 

'As an authority we are committed to resolving the land contamination issues at Sand Hill Park and this project remains a priority for officers from Public Health and Protection and we shall continue to keep the local residents fully informed of progress.'

Among the first residents of Sand Hill Park were Len and Kathleen Newland who said this week they were very disappointed at the outcome.

'We have received a letter from Cornwall Council saying the bid failed and that another meeting is going to be called to discuss lesser measures,' said Mr Newland.

'At the last meeting we attended the council was talking about a contribution of £30,000 from each household. We cannot afford that and as none of it was our fault why should we pay?'

Cornwall councillor for Gunnislake Dorothy Kirk (no relation to Rebecca) said: 'I am disappointed that the Environment Agency has not responded more positively to Cornwall Council's request for funding to help with remediation works at Sand Hill Park, but delighted that Cornwall Council has reaffirmed its absolute commitment to carrying out the works necessary to deal with the contamination of the site.

'It is a pity that the residents may have to wait a little longer for a satisfactory outcome, but good to know that there will be one in the end. I shall certainly be keeping an eye on the situation.'