PARISH councillors in Pewsey are asking Kennet District Council planners for a definition of when a development is considered finished, so that building firms can be held to agreements they have made.

The issue was raised at the parish council meeting last week because works which Wilcon Homes have agreed to carry out on Wilcot Road, as part of its housing development scheme, have not yet started and councillors are becoming increasingly worried.

The parish council was aware that the developers had made a Section 106 agreement to complete works, including a new length of footpath, as soon as the building development is completed.

But some councillors said they were concerned that the buildings works appear to be completed but the work on the footpath has not begun.

They said double decker buses serving the new Wilcon estate are now using Wilcot Road.

They said this adds to the danger for pedestrians, who have to walk in the road because there is no pavement.

Coun John Cooke said the parish council will have to establish whether the agreement is tied to the last homes being completed or being sold.

Vice chairman Coun Geoff Olsen said local authorities would be in a better position if Section 106 agreements were always framed on the completion of the last house than than on the occupation.

Speaking generally rather than about any particular development, he said: "The profit on the last house to be sold on a development could be less than the cost of completing Section 106 works, so developers could keep it empty for as long as they like."

Chairman Colin Lampard said the council should write to Wiltshire Highways Department, with whom the Section 106 agreement had been made by the developers, to point out that the new Wilcon homes have significantly increased traffic, especially buses, in Wilcot Road.

He said he would prefer to see highways work subject to the formal agreement, carried out before any construction work was started on homes.