Residents have slammed a Tory council after construction on a warehouse seemingly began without their consultation.
Residents in Corby, Northamptonshire, awoke to find the large metal frame of the industrial units being erected near their back gardens.
It would later emerge that North Northamptonshire council's building planning officers had mistakenly consulted people living on the wrong street.
Officers sent letters to residents living on Hubble Road instead of Hooke Close to ask their opinions about the 160,800 sq ft development.
Georgie Wallis has criticised the constructionGB News
The warehouse behind the back gardens
GB News
One of those affected was resident Georgie Wallis, who said: "How can you get that so wrong? How can you make such an error and wonder why no one has objected?
"It’s enormous. Once the shell goes in it, that’s going to be a complete eyesore, and it already is, it’s awful."
Another neighbour, Jose Cruz, 64, and his wife Olga, 59, moved into their £200,000 two-bedroom semi-detached home in 2011. They now have concerns that they will be unable to sell it.
Cruz, a supermarket worker, said: "It’s a nightmare, the building will leave our home in complete darkness.
"There used to be a Weetabix factory on the site but that was half the size of this monstrosity and it had been dormant for a long time. We get the sun in the morning into our kitchen, garden and bedroom but not any more."
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The warehouse is being built on the former Weetabix site
GB News
The plans for the Earlstree 160 project, on the site of a former Weetabix factory, were approved by the council in November with construction works expected to be completed towards the end of this year. Hooke Close already backs onto Earlstrees Industrial Estate.
The eight-acre site will have enough parking for 109 cars and 25 HGVs and is already being advertised as a distribution warehouse to lease on Rightmove.
Operations manager Kieran Joseph, 30, has lived in the street with hairdresser Megan Cowan, 28, and their two children, for seven years.
He said: "The vibrations have caused a crack in our roof so the kids’ bedroom leaks and when I or Megan work from home we’ve had to explain and apologise to customers because of the noise."
Labour councillor Mark Pengelly said: "Incredibly, the North Northants planning officers consulted with homes next to a different Weetabix site [on Hubble Road].
"My constituents are furious and would have objected to how close the buildings are to their homes."
The council’s Conservative leader said: "We can confirm that the permission remains lawful as a notice was placed at the site and a press advert was published – which fulfils the statutory part of the process.
"We apologise again for the error and residents can be assured we are doing all we can to ensure a similar issue doesn’t happen again."
