Villagers in Suffolk say they are being blighted by construction traffic associated with a development of 70 homes, which was approved despite opposition from residents.

Homeowners in Grundisburgh have said many of the problems they had predicted associated with the Hopkins Homes' development on land off Park Road and Chapel Road had come to fruition.

East Suffolk Council approved the plans in October despite receiving 400 objection letters highlighting concerns about highway matters, particularly the unsuitability of single lane roads nearby for traffic linked to the development.

Reports have also been made that drivers of construction vehicles have been ignoring signposted routes and instead using inappropriate narrow lanes.

Resident Rupert Herries said Grundisburgh did not have the infrastructure to cope and that people moving into the new homes would have difficulty placing their children in schools and registering with doctors’ surgeries, which were ‘full and not coping.’

He added: “So these are the problems we face for the immediate future.

“Meanwhile, we are trying to deal with the horrendous problems we are facing now.

“These problems increase every day and however much we write to East Suffolk Council, Suffolk County Council Highways and Hopkins Homes we get nothing except platitudes.

“All our warnings which are now being proved to be correct have been ignored. We feel that our village is under siege.”

He also questioned whether the new homes would be ‘affordable,’ despite properties in this bracket being included as part of the plans.

He added: “We are a community that is suffering greatly from this unjust intrusion into our lives with a development that is being built in an inappropriate location and will not provide the type of housing that will be of any benefit to our village.”

Ann Willetts, chair of Grundisburgh and Culpho Parish Council, said ‘every day since the development started, the village has experienced the dust, the debris, the delivery lorries’.

She added: “Grundisburgh is living through a dust storm which began on July 19/20. Days long in everyone’s memory as temperatures reached records of over 40 degrees.

“The Government issued warnings of not to go out unless you needed to make sure you had water to hand. What did Hopkins Homes do? They started the earth moving works on Chapel Field, Grundisburgh.”

Previously, a spokesperson for the developer said measures were being put in place to mitigate the impact of the dust, while contractors and suppliers were being informed in writing of the correct route to follow.