Ref. 27873-13A DEVELOPER who tried to protect wildlife in a pond when the firm built £300,000 houses has come under fire from the homeowners.

They have had to cope with puddles on their drives after gullies to drain away water were not installed.

Owners of the three highly sought-after houses in Queen Elizabeth Drive, Taw Hill, bought their new properties from Bryant Homes in Bristol last December.

But they say they have been plagued with a catalogue of problems including mystery puddles of water on their drives.

Terry Byrne, 48, who shares one of the houses with wife, Helen, 48, and their four grown-up children, noticed the problems only five weeks after they moved in.

Mr Byrne, a site agent for a Basingstoke construction firm, maintains that up until Wednesday Bryant Homes had always insisted that storm drainage pipes had been fully connected to the main drain system when the houses were built.

He told the Evening Adver-tiser: "At the beginning of the year I noticed a puddle of water on the path near my front-door.

"I contacted Bryant Homes who sent a letter stating that they would investigate but nothing happened.

"Although a work party arrived in June and has worked hard to concentrate on interior defects, no work has been done on the outside for months.

"A full gang finally arrived this week and are digging it all up.

"I am demanding to know why the mistake happened in the first place and why it has taken all this time to sort out."

A spokesman for the southwest regional office of Bryant Homes blamed the drainage problems on environmental issues.

He said: "We are aware of the purchasers' concerns and we are currently implementing measures to improve the drainage of surface water on the drive.

"Contractors confirmed that a main drain was installed beneath Mr Byrne's drive during the initial construction process and work is now underway to install yard gulleys off this.

"The drive was originally planned to be constructed with yard gulleys.

"An alternative was considered, enabling surface water to flow onto a natural landscaped area, however we reverted to the original plan to protect wildlife in an adjacent pond."

All three homes are connected to the same drainage system.

kshoesmith@newswilts.co.uk