RESIDENTS have threatened to take legal action against developers behind a major regeneration for making their lives a “nightmare.”

Seventeen people living on Basildon’s Craylands estate are planning to sue Basildon Council and Swan Housing for causing them 18 months of disruption.

Ian Castle, 43, of Norwich Walk, who works as a building site manager, broke his arm after falling over a collapsed manhole cover on the path outside his home three weeks ago.

Residents have met officers from Basildon Council and Swan Housing, which are behind the regeneration of Craylands, on a number of occasions to air their concerns, but Mr Castle said his injury was the final straw.

He said: “I was just walking along when suddenly my foot went through something and I fell to the floor. I could tell straight away something was wrong, and it turns out I broke my arm.

“The manhole cover wasn’t on the drain properly, and it just collapsed under me.

“Because of my job I know they are not doing this work properly or following health and safety procedures.”

Plans for 1,310 new homes on the estate were given outline planning permission in 2006, and are being built in four phases.

The project, which involves demolishing existing buildngs, also includes a community hall, health centre and new shops.

Mr Castle said: “I work nights so I barely get any sleep because the work is so noisy in the day.

We’ve had so much disruption, our properties have been damaged by the work and there is mud and dirt everywhere.

“I have even spotted hoarding being delivered at 4am, which isn’t right.

“When we first got to see the plans we thought they looked good, but they have changed so much since then.

Now we’ve got houses being built closer to us than they should, and there is nowhere outside our home to park.

“The last 18 months have been a nightmare.”

Construction work has not yet started in Norwich Walk, where Mr Castle broke his arm.

A spokesman for Basildon Council said: “Unfortunately due to the nature and scale of construction, there will be some disruption while the redevelopment is undertaken.

“We will continue to work with contractors on site to minimise the impact this has on residents.

“The council has reported the sunken hydrant cover to Essex and Suffolk Water which will look to remedy the issue as soon as possible.”

12-year regeneration project

THE Echo revealed two weeks ago the first new homes on Craylands were nearly ready for residents to move into.

Ambitious £250million regeneration plans for the estate, which was built in the Sixties, first emerged in 2002 when Basildon Council successfully applied for Government cash.

A total of 1,310 homes were originally proposed and plans, including a community hall, health centre, and new shops, were finally given outline permission four years later and Swan Housing was awarded the contract.

The regeneration project, which is expected to take 12 years in total, is the biggest of its kind in the East of England.

Building work and demolition is taking place in phases.

Phase one, which contains 337 homes, is set to be completed any day now.

Phase two is earmarked to start this year, three years behind schedule.

Some 500 homes were proposed for phases two and three, but no information was released about the number of houses in phase four.