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Road at new-build estate unfinished four years on

Matt Knight/BBC A drainage grate sticks out of a paved road. On either side of the road there are houses and cars. The sky is blue.Matt Knight/BBC
The developer of the estate said it understood the "frustration and inconvenience caused by the delays"

People living on a new estate are still waiting for the finishing touches to the road surface outside their homes, four years since their houses were built.

Residents in Oakview Crescent, in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, said they risked damaging their vehicles or tripping over the surface around the drainage grates.

The exposed iron covers have not yet been levelled with the road.

The estate's building firm said it understood the "frustration and inconvenience caused by the delays".

Gill Tomkins, who moved into the road with husband Peter four years ago, said she burst a car tyre on one of the corners of an exposed grate.

"We love Clacton, and love the area - we just have this one thing hanging over our heads," she said.

Matt Knight/BBC An older man and women stand side-by-side. The man has his arm around the woman's shoulder. The man is wearing a green jumper, and the woman is wearing a red jumper. They stand on a road with bungalows. The sky is overcast and grey.Matt Knight/BBC
Gill and Peter Tomkins said they were the first to move into Oakview Crescent

Resident Denise Gibbs said she had seen several people damage their cars on the grates.

"We've been promised that this would be done for the last three years, and it keeps bouncing back between the developers and the council," she said.

Matt Knight/BBC A lady in a green coat stands in the middle of a road. There are new-build bungalows either side of her.Matt Knight/BBC
Denise Gibbs has lived in Oakview Crescent for almost three years

The building firm, R Burfoot Construction, said the delay to fixing the surface around the drainage grates was "due to challenges" with Ringway Jacobs, which is a highways contractor for Essex County Council.

A spokesperson for R Burfoot Construction provided a long statement to the BBC, in which it said it had been told of a "significant backlog" of applications for works to be carried out by Ringway Jacobs.

Steps had already been taken to lower "or ramp the ironworks" located in the most "inconvenient areas", they added.

"We deeply regret any inconvenience caused by these delays and appreciate the patience shown from the residents of Oakview Crescent," they said.

'Sub-standard'

Essex County Council pointed out that the road was still owned by R Burfoot Construction and there was "no adoption agreement" for the council to take over responsibility for it in the future.

As a result, the council said the company did not need approval to carry out maintenance there.

"We work proactively with developers across the county to adopt roads which meet the necessary standards, but we cannot adopt roads which fail to meet these standards," a spokesperson said.

Ringway Jacobs was also approached for comment.

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