Milton Keynes fire-razed house owner waiting for rebuild
Tony Fisher/BBCA couple said they did not know if they would ever be able to move back to their home which has still not been rebuilt three years after a fire.
Barry Venables owns a semi-detached house in Milton Keynes, but the attached home is owned by the council.
He said under a contract between his insurer and the council, he was due to move back in this week, but only the foundations have been laid.
The council said an "administration issue" had added to the delay.
Mr Venables, 70, said the attached council house in Marram Close, Beanhill, caught fire in the early hours in July 2018.
It spread to the home he shares with his wife Sylvia, 69, and both single-storey properties were destroyed.
Bucks Fire ServiceHe was able to claim on his insurance, but has not been able to move back in - because there is nothing to move back to.
Mr Venables said on the morning of the fire he was emptying the bins when "a big black cloud appeared" and the fire took hold.
No-one was injured.
Google"I just watched it go up in smoke," he said.
An agreement was reached between the council and his insurance company that one building company should be responsible for reconstructing both properties.
He said it "took about a year for them to get together - equal blame both ways on that".
"The way forward was to do a combined project... so the bill would be split 50/50 [between the council and his insurer]."
His insurer had paid up, he said, but he blamed the council for the delay.
Three years on, he said he was "extremely frustrated".
"We are in limbo at the moment," he said.
"We can't find any information about why we're not moving forward.
"We should have been back at the end of this week - if it had all gone to plan.
"We're wondering if we'll ever get back; we're not sure if it will ever be done."
The work was only started about a month ago, Mr Venables said.
"What we have - after waiting over three years - is some foundations, flooded by recent rain, so it now looks like moat," he said.
A spokesman from Milton Keynes Council said they had never refused to pay the builders.
"The payment is already in process and will be paid imminently," he said.
"There was a delay due to an administration issue which we apologise for."
Mr Venables has lived at four different addresses since the fire, and said the next lease would run out in January - but he did not think his home would be rebuilt by then.
"We just want to get back and get life back to as normal as it can be," he said.
"I used to love working on my model steam engines in my workshop. Now all I do is sit and do jigsaws, and twiddle my thumbs."
