RESIDENTS of an upmarket housing development have hit out at plans to build a sewage plant near their homes.

The plans have been put forward for the plant on the Cumnor Ridge development of about 200 homes in Cumnor Hill.

Developer Persimmon Homes said it needed to build the facility to allow it to continue building while Thames Water resolved a drainage issue.

Gary McCartan, 48, lives on the development within 50 yards of the proposed location. He said: “When we bought this house there was no plan for a sewage plant. Who would want a sewage plant next door?

“We are very concerned about the potential health side effects of operating a plant in an area which was previously designated to built houses. They are talking about it being there until 2013 but are not committing to an end date. We may have it there any number of years.”

The need for the plant arose when it emerged that the sewage system could not cope with the additional homes planned as part of the development.

However, it was a potential problem both Vale of White Horse District Council planners and Persimmon were aware of when the original application was agreed. The installation of a temporary sewage treatment plant was listed as one possible solution.

About 30 of the homes have already been built out of a total of 192. Jon Regent, deputy managing director of Persimmon Homes Thames Valley, said: “The plant will serve only our development at Cumnor Hill by providing temporary sewerage facilities only until such time as the local water authority undertakes improvements to the sewerage infrastructure in the area.

“The proposed facilities, while only temporary, is of a type used extensively for permanent installations in areas with substandard infrastructure and has been the subject of detailed scrutiny and approval by the Environment Agency.”

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We have been working with Persimmon Homes for some time regarding the potential installation of a temporary package treatment plant.

“We were satisfied that the temporary treatment plant would not cause harm to the environment and that the development would be connected to the public sewer as soon as is practicable.”

A spokesman for Thames Water said: “We are aware of the ongoing issues with drainage on Cumnor Hill, and are in discussions with the planning authorities on the best way to resolve this.”

The Vale council’s planning committee will make a decision on the application on Wednesday.