A DEVELOPER has been told to stop work on a controversial new estate because it lacks proper planning permission.

Vale of White Horse District Council ordered Taylor Wimpey to stop work on the 158-home estate in Drayton Road, Abingdon, or face an injunction.

Some residents in Abingdon have opposed the new housing from the outset three years ago.

Mike Badcock, of Maberley Close, near Drayton Road, said: “I think most of the neighbours are pretty annoyed about it.

“The developers have been down there doing ground works and knocking down trees.

“Then I got an email from the Vale saying Taylor Wimpey was in breach of certain regulations and it had been told to stop.

“The Vale said if necessary it would take out an injunction.”

Taylor Wimpey won approval to build 158 homes off Drayton Road from the Vale in March.

But the council said the company had still not got permission to start work on the site. A spokesperson said: “Taylor Wimpey started work on site before it should have done.

“It has agreed to stop work and has submitted an application to discharge its conditions.”

Taylor Wimpey said the problem was that it had not yet agreed ‘ecological mitigation’ measures with the council.

Spokesman Ed O’Mara said: “We are currently agreeing measures in line with the conditions of the original permission. Our proposals are being considered by the council and no further work will take place until these have been approved.”

For residents who have opposed the new estate since developer Hallam Land Management first proposed it in 2012, the news that Taylor Wimpey has broken the rules is a disappointment.

Patricia Highmoor, of Virginia Way, said: “The traffic in the town and Drayton Road is already horrendous, the schools are full up and shops are closing.

“I just hope they put a big fence up between it and our garden.”

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood opposed the estate saying its cars would add unacceptable extra traffic to congested nearby roads.

The Vale refused the plan but Hallam won a planning appeal.

An inspector approved the scheme but, recognising it would cause congestion, told Hallam to pay for pedestrian crossings on Ock Street and Marcham Road.

Hallam pulled out and sold the plot to Taylor Wimpey. The two crossings have been created.