Residents living on an “executive” Whitehaven estate are furious it has taken a housing developer three years to complete a drainage pond.

People living at Story Homes’ Wilson Howe development at Kells have spoken out about the state of what’s called a sustainable drainage system.

Paul Beck, 32, whose house overlooks the eyesore, said: “It’s an absolute disgrace. It’s just a piece of wasteland with a fence around.

“When it rains, it levels partially. It doesn’t have water in it now, only when it rains. It will be only half full.

“It leaks onto the footpath and onto the road.

“We have bothered them for years. It’s apparently an executive homes estate but it isn’t really.

“We have been looking to move on. It’s totally taken the shine off it. It’s horrible.

“I don’t know if we would go for a new-build ever again.”

“I think they have definitely rushed to get them built. Their name’s quite fitting - Story Homes - the homes are ok but anything else they do is dreadful.”

James Brown, 36, who also lives on the estate, said: “I have been in communication with them for two-and-a-half years. My house looks directly over the top of it so I can see it every day. It just looks like a crater.

“When we were sold the house, they showed us what it would look like and said the pond would attract wildlife, and people would walk their dogs there.

“For a luxury estate, it doesn’t exactly spring out with luxury.

“You’re buying houses for £300,000 so you expect it to be perfect. It’s just disappointing, really.

“I’ve had no issues with the house, it’s just this area.”

A Story Homes spokesperson said: “The purpose of a SuDS (sustainable drainage system) pond is to provide a natural approach to managing drainage, helping to maintain water quality as well as reduce the likelihood of flooding in urban areas.

“Story Homes is preparing to commence works to the SuDS pond at our Wilson Howe development which will enable the pond to properly fulfil its purpose of holding surface water.

“We anticipate that these works will be completed by the end of September this year.

“The computer-generated images used within our development brochures are for illustrative purposes only, to help give customers an idea of how the development could look once completed.

“They are not an exact representation of our finished homes or development features.”