VIDEO: Parked lorry outside development at Farthings Hill causes traffic ‘nightmare’

Tim Jarvis, who lives near the site where Crest Nicholson is building 27 homes, said the obstruction had caused a ‘traffic nightmare’ and was ‘unsafe’ with pedestrians having to cross the road to get past.

In response the developer said that a third-party contractor had wrongly started unloading on the roadside and they would be speaking to them to ensure it did not happen again.

Mr Jarvis said: “It’s completely unacceptable and against the agreement that we were told.”

He vented his frustration at Horsham District Council for what he deemed a lack of proper enforcement action on the authority’s part to ensure lorries unloaded within the site itself.

Lorries stopping in the road was a regular occurrence he said, and had contacted HDC on several occasions.

He added: “When they book lorries to come they know they can unload within the facility and that’s the arrangement we had with the council.

“We told them it would be a mess [when the application was approved] but they said they could control it.

“They are not controlling it, they are not keeping their side of the bargain.”

A spokesperson for Crest Nicholson said: “I can confirm that a third party contractor commenced loading on the roadside in error.

“While a banksman was present at the time to direct traffic, we have reiterated to the contractor the requirements for loading at the site in order to ensure that these are complied with in the future.”

The application for 21 houses and six flats on land just off the Farthings Hill roundabout was granted permission in May 2013 despite residents concerns about road safety and potential gridlock.

Horsham District Council was approached for comment but at the time of publication had not responded.