Kilgetty construction 'causing floods and damaging homes'

People living near the site of a housing development in Pembrokeshire have said their lives are being ruined by the impact of construction work.

Nineteen new homes are being built at Meadow Gardens, Kilgetty, but residents said there have been 30 flooding incidents since work started in 2019.

It is also claimed house walls have been cracked during the work.

Castle Homes, the development's owner, said it was not aware of any damage caused by construction works.

Those living near Meadow Gardens have said they want work stopped on the site while complaints about flooding, as well as a loss of privacy, are addressed.

Melanie Caudwell lives next to the development in the house where she was born.

She said her privacy will be gone after the development, and cracks have appeared in walls on the inside and outside of her home. She is also worried about further movement.

"It's been horrendous," she said. "It's very stressful because you don't know what you're going to wake up to next morning and with cracks appearing everywhere, it's really worrying.

"We've had to get a locksmith out because our door had moved and we couldn't get in and he said then that it had moved.

"The flooding has been terrible. It's been running down the street and you can't get into your car without getting soaking wet feet and it's been going on since 2019. It's just not fair."

Julie Towers, who retired to Kilgetty from the north of England three years ago, lives in the Shillingford Park retirement estate on the other side of the development.

She said a large retaining wall had been built behind her home and water frequently poured down into her property.

"We bought this property, put everything into it. It was beautiful and quiet here, then all this started and it's just upset everything," she said.

"It's very disruptive - the wall, the water that comes down when it's raining.

"We're worried about drainage. It's just far too high and we've no privacy whatsoever.

"We're not objecting to the houses as such, it's just the danger of this wall and the water and mud coming down."

Darren Thompstone, the owner of Narberth-based Castle homes, said the company has been in regular contact with people and was not aware of any complaints about damage to properties.

He said: "We're not aware of any damage caused by us.

"The flooding described is rainwater run-off which will disappear once constructions work is finished.

"I'm a local guy and as a company we believe in building local homes for local people - using local trade and materials."

He said it was an "oversight" not to include the wall behind Ms Towers' property in the original plans and this was being addressed.

But residents said their original objections were ignored and permission for the development was granted without the application being put through the county council's planning committee.

It is also claimed emails and phone calls were not answered.

BBC Wales has also seen a letter from the council's planning department stating that the retaining wall and uplifting was done without authorisation.

Pembrokeshire County Council said: "The developer has been advised that the retaining wall and the raised ground levels do not accord with the approved plans and a planning application is required if they are to be retained.

"Council officers have visited Shillingford Park to assess the impact of the work on residents and their concerns have been discussed."

It added the original application was not discussed by the planning committee because it fell under the required threshold in terms of numbers of houses.