Construction works on greenfield site next to home is ruining our lives

[goldengrove]

Can anyone help with advice on this please? We're absolutely desperate owing to all the stress and disruption. Last year the local Council agreed that a greenfield site next to our home (which unbelievably also happens to be in a flood zone 2 and had protected species on it!) could be developed for new housing. They began work just after Christmas. Our peace has gone forever.
The builders are inconsiderate, have caused damage on the narrow road, our driveway is usually blocked by diggers and vans and I've now been diagnosed with reactive depression owing to extreme stress. It's been so bad I've been forced to rent accommodation elsewhere as I simply can't handle the noise. This is separating me from my disabled son for much of the week causing huge pain. Under lockdown of course it's even more intolerable as we are all forced to be trapped at home all the time with work and homeschooling. Yes I've tried to talk to Environmental Health about the impact, seems the most they'll do is ask the builder not to work on Saturdays (which he has then promptly proceeded to do). We'll have to sell the house and move. It's so clear that we are complete victims of this situation, bearing all the disruption and gaining none of the benefits.
This is a greedy developer who's already wealthy who is building himself another big new house along with a few others. We're not well off and are being driven out of our only home. It's breaking up the family and making me ill if not suicidal. Can we sue the Council? Is there anything whatsoever that we can do?

@goldengrove - the point of Considerate Constructors, is to overcome the negative behaviours you are unfortunately experiencing. A developer will sign up to the scheme, and site managers and workforce will be incentivised to hit various targets, often around complaints, noise, public engagement, community payback (eg: I am aware of a housing national developer who built the local scout group an outside shelter - bbq area). It sounds like this is not a “big name” developer if they are not even wearing hard hats on site. I’ve worked on construction sites for 20 years, there are very few activities activities which are exempt from hard hats, although there is normally a blanket rule that all workforce will wear hard hats, hi viz and safety boots on all active areas of the site. If they are not even managing hard hats, I would imagine the HSE would be very interested.

Re flooding: new developments are required to reduce runoff to less than natural levels. I think this is from the Water Resources Act 2010. Are you suyre that there is not drainage storage (eg: soakaways) planned for the new houses? With this system rainwater would accumulate in a buried semi photos tank (could be as simpler as trench filled with gravel and turfed over in otherwise clayey soil). These are often hidden under driveways.

Sorry, posted too soon @goldengrove

It really saddens that my industry is still fulfilling its stereotypes, despite huge efforts to reform. I haven’t worked in housing for a long time though. I hope you get some peace soon, but I’d enquire of the planning authority about that drainage concern. As long as here are people on site, there are people to put in additional drainage. Getting them back later is more difficult.

Thanks BikeRunSki for your helpful insights and comments. Interesting point re HSE - will keep an eye on that, perhaps they should be informed! It doesn't inspire much confidence in the quality of the work when even such basic compliance as wearing hard hats is being flouted. The planning application eventually got through after many years of being refused, but had conditions attached, some of which I recall did concern site drainage, and letters of objection certainly highlighted this risk. Let's hope that all the proper external checks are made at every stage. Personally I'm just exhausted now by the whole thing and no longer have any relish for checking or challenging what's happening there. It seems to make more sense now to pick my battles, conserve remaining energies and instead focus on the future - to sell up and move on to somewhere else.

Some of these responses are disgustingly non sympathetic to the OP’s situation!

A person has a right to expect to live in a quiet peaceful home, daily construction noise and disruption is horrifically stressful and destabilising.

I hope the houses are now build and/or you’ve managed to sell. Sending love and support.

If they worked for fewer hours it’d need to go on for longer, so at least this way should get it finished more quickly than would otherwise be the case.

If the noise is one of the main issues then a white noise machine may help you.

Interesting to see that my thread of nearly 18 months ago has now reanimated! :) Sincere thanks to the two kind folk who posted today.

Update for those interested: I had to leave.

Now very much happier (though much poorer), living under a far better council in a different place. For complex reasons, and against my own choice, the home is sadly not yet sold. And the construction continues! The developer is now trying to construct his (2nd) mansion opposite, apparently. I gather a few other local residents are now also beginning to get a little restive and perhaps start to question what was unleashed. Thankfully I am no longer there.