Banbury housing development roads - 'abysmal for five years' - could be surfaced by Christmas

Householders at Longford Park say Longford Park Road has not been surfaced properly over the five years since construction.

"It's becoming a serious matter of urgency that Longford Park Road still hasn't been tarmaced. We have been waiting over five years and there is still no response or action by Barratt Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes,” said resident Kal Mann.

“The road is on a school and bus route and the road is struggling. For some unknown reason the developers are refusing to tarmac the road when it's their responsibility to do this before the council can adopt the area. It is abysmal.”

Barratt Homes – lead company for the building consortium – said they hoped to get the full surfacing done by Christmas.

A spokesperson for Barratt Homes West Midlands said: “We are sorry for the delay in surfacing the road at our Longford Park development, and completely understand the frustration of residents. Essential remedial works were required before the surfacing could take place.

“We are trying to finish the works as soon as possible and are in regular contact with the local authority to agree when all of the work will be complete. Initial works on the spine road are set to begin at the end of June in stages to minimise disruption for residents and, due to the length of the road, we hope to complete these by Christmas.”

The county council said while the road remains ‘private’ and not public highway, responsibility for all maintenance remains with the developer.

As the road has remained open to construction traffic, there is a reluctance from the developer to lay the final road surface as there would be a good chance it would be damaged and have to be replaced before adoption by the local authority.

Once an adoption is agreed, the developer is bound to maintain the road in good order.

"Unfortunately there are currently land ownership issues that need to be resolved before any formal agreement can be completed. We are currently working with the developers to resolve these issues,” said a spokesman.