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Lakes, sodden gardens, tankers, wagons and noise at ‘nightmare’ of a housing development
A major housing build has sparked a series of complaints, including worries about flooding risk from a drainage “lake”, wagons rolling through a quiet village and noise from diggers and pile-drivers.
The Taylor Wimpey development in Kirklevington has prompted concerns it could turn a field situated over natural springs into a flood plain. The concerns have moved one councillor to say the developer was “running rings around Stockton Council” and call for more enforcement, while an ex-parish councillor described it as a “debacle”.
“To be honest it’s been a nightmare,” said retired senior library assistant Ann Hunter, 69, who has lived in her home near the development since 1984. She described noise so severe it hurt her ears while indoors, while another resident talked of vibrations which made a phone bounce along a kitchen worktop.
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“I could feel the vibration going right through the house. It was horrendous,” said Ann. “We’re used to the quiet here, it’s a quiet little village. You’re just used to listening to the birds.”
She said her garden ended up “sodden” from lakes created for a drainage system set up during the development, and described a neighbour finding the large body of water within 2ft of her hedge. She added: “It was an absolutely gorgeous wildlife area. It was supposed to be a green area. I thought they would leave it untouched.
“It was flattened. It was the destruction of a beautiful wildlife habitat. They just trashed it.
“That was when we started to get a lot of the water. I was worried about flooding. That field did protect us. Now we haven’t got the field as a safety blanket, it’s going to be a flood plain.
“We’d already said it was a flood area, and they put a lake in. Absolute stupidity.”
A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said they are operating in accordance with the approved planning permission for the development and in line with the construction environmental management plan. They added that all site clearance works were carried out in line with approved plans and an ecologist was present when required.
Another resident, retired plater Stephen Brown, 77, said: “We’ve been flooded out before Taylor Wimpey took over. The whole bungalow’s been surrounded by water.”
He said they had not been flooded during the development, but water had started to “seep towards us”. He added: “It still is worrying.
“It does build up to quite a high level. It’s deep. It’s quite a risk. They were bringing tankers in to drain the water out.
“We protested about it (the development) because of the water problem and the fact that there was all the traffic through the village. That’s the worst thing.”
One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s basically a swamp over there. They’re having to put the pipe in and connect to the drainage more or less outside our house.”
Angela Hall, 72, said: “The noise here from 7am is dreadful, and the dust when it first started and the muck. Early in the morning you can do without it, and the roads are breaking down.”
Another resident said she complained over Christmas and New Year: “They had a generator running draining the water, it was going sometimes 24-7, and the fumes from it were disgusting.”
Calls from anxious residents
Others complained about the developers building too close to their home affecting their privacy, traffic heading through the estate, and a lack of clear planning, warning or engagement with the local community, with one resident saying: “Everything we requested has either not been done or been done much too late.”
Councillor Andrew Sherris, who represents Yarm, said: “I’m particularly anxious about the risk of flooding to people’s houses.
“What residents find incredible is that a developer can plough on ahead without submitting any scheme into Stockton to show how they’re going to alleviate the problem. I’ve had calls from anxious residents concerned that their back gardens were very very wet and that the pond was going to flood over.
“I think quite honestly they’re running rings around the council and I think a lot of the residents feel that way as well.
“It really is frustrating for us all and particularly those residents experiencing problems where it appears that no thought or care is given towards their amenity and well being. Even today we’re still getting complaints in about wagons that are running through the village during school drop-off and pick-up times.”
Former parish councillor Andy Alton said it came very close to flooding gardens: “I can’t see a hasty resolution about to emerge. It’s a debacle.”
Cllr Sherris raised a wider issue as “planning enforcement is almost non-existent”, with officers balancing workloads with dual roles.
‘Aware of concerns’
“We need to get back to dedicated planning enforcement officers like we had years ago who would come down hard on any developer stepping out of line,” he said, telling how frustration and anger led to a meeting with the council’s finance chief.
“We don’t seem to have enough, or any, enforcement powers, and I think certain developers are just running rings around us.”
A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: “We are aware of concerns from some residents about our development in Kirklevington and would like to assure them of our commitment to carrying out work on site with as minimal disruption as possible. We are operating in accordance with the approved planning permission for the development and in line with the construction environmental management plan (CEMP), which has also been approved by Stockton Borough Council.
“Taylor Wimpey is committed to preserving and enhancing local wildlife. All site clearance works were carried out in line with approved plans and an ecologist was present to oversee the removal of hedges where required.
‘Working to reach a quick resolution’
“We will continue to work closely with the council and to update neighbouring residents as our work on site continues.”
The developer says it worked with the council to alleviate pre-development flood risk, helped control traffic on the junction of Forest Lane between school drop-off and pick-up times, and has confirmed no further pile-driving would be carried out.
It says they sent letters to residents directly affected by recent drainage works in St Martins Way informing them of the works and held meetings to discuss concerns, carried out letter drops during Covid restrictions and launched a website to submit queries. It also says road maintenance is the council’s responsibility and HGV movements were considered before the plans were approved.
Taylor Wimpey says Stockton Council stipulated the location of the drainage pond, and the council says its location was agreed as part of the approved Taylor Wimpey planning application.
A Stockton Council spokesperson said: “All development sites contain sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) to control surface water runoff. At the council’s request the SuDS scheme at Kirklevington also includes additional capacity to capture runoff from the original field which previously flooded neighbouring properties.
“Residents’ concerns regarding the construction of the development have, and continue to be treated seriously and we are working with the developers to reach a quick resolution.”
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