Residents say their lives are being made a misery by the \u201cconstant\u201d noise, dust and damage caused by the ongoing construction of a large housing development.<\/p>\n
Families say works to build hundreds of new homes at the Capstone Oaks development off North Dane Way in Lordswood, Chatham have caused relentless disruption since late April.<\/p>\n
From left to right: Elizabeth Migsom, Keith Greenfield, Marie Hutchinson and Tia Quarrington believe works at Capstone Oaks are causing the issues at their properties<\/p>\n
They claim their homes in neighbouring Hampshire Close and Barleymow Close are shaking, surfaces are being blanketed in brick dust and cracks are now appearing inside properties.<\/p>\n
Marie Hutchinson, who lives in Hampshire Close, said the noise begins early and continues throughout the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey start around 7am and it goes on until 6pm,\u201d she told KentOnline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole house vibrates. Things bang, things fall, and people have cracks appearing in their homes.<\/p>\n
The dust, she added, is constant.<\/p>\n
All the cars are covered in dust in Hampshire Close, Lordswood
A garden table found covered in dust after a resident went on holiday for a week<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to wash my kitchen floor and wipe all my surfaces every morning because it\u2019s covered,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s brick dust, you can smell it. You can\u2019t open the windows, you can\u2019t sit in the garden, you can\u2019t hang washing out. Even the grass is grey.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cWe have to constantly wipe surfaces and clean our cars, and it all costs money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marie believes the developers \u2014 Taylor Wimpey and the Vistry Group \u2014 should be doing more to protect residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese big companies should put proper protections in place, like protective netting or water sprinklers,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have millions, and we\u2019re the ones paying for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marie Hutchinson believes the Capstone Oaks building work is to blame for the dust, vibration and damage to nearby homes<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the consortium said all work is being carried out in accordance with an approved Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP), and \u201cappropriate measures\u201d are in place to mitigate disruption.<\/p>\n
This includes three water bowsers in place to mitigate dust.<\/p>\n
They also said they will continue to monitor the situation and maintain regular contact with Medway Council as works continue.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Marie\u2019s neighbour Keith Greenfield said the impact is \u201creally bad\u201d for his wife, who suffers with asthma.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife can\u2019t sleep with the window closed, but now she can\u2019t open it because of the dust,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cleans everything every day and the dust still comes back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Complaints have been raised but so far residents say no action has been taken.<\/p>\n
Tia Quarrington, also living in Hampshire Close, said environmental protection officers attended the nearby building site but were unable to act.<\/p>\n
Capstone Oaks building work is being blamed for dust, vibration and damage to nearby homes<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said that if there isn\u2019t visible dust in the air at the time, they can\u2019t take immediate action and can only advise monitoring and gathering evidence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can collect evidence, but for how long? We have to live in these conditions and it\u2019s not healthy for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents say the problem is not limited to dust either.<\/p>\n
Keith Thompson provided a video showing plates shaking inside his home due to the vibration.<\/p>\n
And other homeowners say the constant movement is now causing damage inside their properties too.<\/p>\n
Eugenia Marques, from nearby Barleymow Close, said her home had never experienced problems before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI refurbished the house a few years ago and nothing was wrong, and now cracks are appearing in the walls,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re building new houses, but they\u2019re destroying ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the situation is also affecting her pets.<\/p>\n
Eugenia Marques, of Barleymow Close, said her home had never experienced problems before this<\/p>\n
\u201cI have two dogs and they usually stay outside, but I can\u2019t keep them there now,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir beds are covered in dust and their water gets dirty very quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t let them drink that. I won\u2019t give my dogs water with construction dust in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Migsom has also reported damage inside her home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only decorated recently and now it looks awful again. I have to repair it, and that costs money,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Cathy Write, of Hampshire Close, says residents are spending hours every day cleaning
All the cars in Hampshire Close are covered in dust<\/p>\n
Cathy Write took exception to the costs involved, especially in the current economic climate.<\/p>\n
“We’re using more electricity, more water, spending hours cleaning every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery penny counts at the moment and we\u2019re being forced to spend more.\u201d<\/p>\n
The current building project forms part of the wider East Hill development on land off North Dane Way.<\/p>\n
Plans for the site allow for up to 800 homes, alongside a new primary school, retail space, open areas and a link road connecting the main road with Capstone Road.<\/p>\n
Developers secured outline planning permission on appeal after Medway Council initially refused the scheme, before submitting detailed applications for individual phases.<\/p>\n
Drone images reveal the scale of construction at Capstone Oaks in Lordswood. Photo: Lee Day<\/p>\n
The first phase, known as Capstone Oaks, includes 91 homes.<\/p>\n
The scheme features a mix of two to five-bedroom properties, with 25% allocated as affordable housing.<\/p>\n
Developers began work on this phase in late 2024, and construction is now underway.<\/p>\n
Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group, which operates locally under the Bovis Homes brand, are delivering the wider development in multiple phases.<\/p>\n
Further approvals granted in November 2025 allow hundreds more homes to be built as the site expands.<\/p>\n
As part of the planning agreement, the developers must contribute towards local infrastructure, including schools, transport and community facilities, as well as provide new public open space and play areas.<\/p>\n
The site lies next to Capstone Farm Country Park and was previously used as agricultural land before construction began.<\/p>\n
Chatham and Aylesford MP Tris Osborne has raised concerns<\/p>\n
Tristan Osborne, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, said he visited the site last week following a surge in complaints from residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis development was given planning permission on appeal in 2022 and pre-dates my period as MP; but as MP I am concerned about ongoing issues on the current site,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have written to Medway Council requesting a meeting with the developer; and the developer themselves seeking to understand their mitigations for the site.<\/p>\n
Planning permission documents for the development require measures to be put in place to control dust, noise and disruption during construction, usually through a construction environmental management plan agreed with Medway Council.<\/p>\n
This is expected to include steps such as dust suppression and site management to limit the impact on nearby homes.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s understood a representative of the council visited the site on April 14 and confirmed that they were satisfied with the measures that are in place.<\/p>\n
But residents say those measures are not being properly implemented.<\/p>\n
Mr Osborne says he has requested council enforcement occurs around the site should appropriate mitigations be found not to have been undertaken.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cMy residents deserve better than constant noise, dust and inconvenience from this site and high standards are not just an expectation, they are a requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr Robbie Lammas visited homes in the area to see the issues for himself<\/p>\n
Cllr Robbie Lammas, deputy leader of the Reform UK Group on Medway Council, also visited the area to see the situation for himself.<\/p>\n
“I saw the dust, I saw damage in some of the homes, and I could feel the vibrations while standing inside the properties,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
“There is also video showing plates shaking inside a property. I don’t think it is normal or acceptable for kitchen plates to be shaking in people’s homes.”<\/p>\n
He has since penned a letter to Taylor Wimpey calling on the developer to respond to residents\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n
Mr Lammas said he had also raised this with Medway Council who he says are aware of complaints and have installed monitoring equipment to assess whether vibration levels are exceeding acceptable limits.<\/p>\n
Keith Thompson, who lives in Barleymow Close, said the constant movement has left him worried about the condition of his home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took a video of plates in a cabinet shaking,\u201d he said. \u201cThe whole cabinet was moving as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the vibrations could be felt throughout the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was in the bath, the water was rippling,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the consortium behind the building work said: \u201cWe understand that our ongoing work at East Hill, Chatham has raised concerns among some local residents, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to assure the community that all work is being carried out in accordance with an approved CEMP, and that appropriate measures are in place to mitigate disruption.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in regular contact with Medway Council about our work on site and the situation will continue to be closely monitored as works progress.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Residents say their lives are being made a misery by the \u201cconstant\u201d noise, dust and damage caused by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51,728,609,495,607,83509,16,15,262832],"class_list":{"0":"post-941046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-environment","10":"tag-human-interest","11":"tag-kent","12":"tag-medway","13":"tag-syndicate","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-westminster-watch-medway"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116526439977628502","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}