Persimmon Homes has been accused of breaking planning conditions at their development in Ivybridge for the second time.

Their development, for 74 homes between Cornwood Road and Woodland Road, has seen numerous HGV lorries turning up outside of allotted hours, and queuing to enter the site.

Ivybridge resident Stewart Edward, who lives in Brook Park, contacted the Gazette on Tuesday, and said: “On leaving my house before 7am this morning, I was concerned to see a large heavy goods vehicle carrying a load of timber framed components waiting on Cornwood Road. A few minutes later this HGV was joined by another HGV.”

Mr Edward said that the planning conditions state that “no vehicles are allowed to wait on the roadway, so how come enforcement action is not being taken?”

He also said his understanding is that “no deliveries should me made before 8am”.

And raised concerns over the major roadworks that are due to begin this week for up to 12 weeks, questioning whether or not these deliveries are still scheduled to continue.

Mr Edward also noted that work had been taking place until at least 5pm on Saturday, when work is supposed to stop at 1pm.

Mr Edward’s wrote to SHDC last month, and asked: “I understand from the Construction Environmental Management Plan that the hours of construction operation on a Saturday are from 8am to 1pm.

“However, a number of workers were busy constructing at least one timber frame property until at least 5pm. Can you advise me if the council has agreed that construction activity, on a Saturday, may continue after 1pm?”

A spokesperson for South Hams District Council said: “We stand by our recent statement that council officers have investigated this case thoroughly and continue to liaise with the developer in the long term to address issues raised and compliance with planning conditions.

“If residents do have ongoing concerns, they would need to report these to us at www.southhams.gov.uk/article/3043/Report-a-Planning-Breach giving as much detail as possible.”

This week, roadworks are due to begin on Cornwood Road, first to install electricity cables and then to connect the development to the South West Water sewer system.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “To minimise disruption, work on utility connections to the Persimmon development have been co-ordinated. The developer will start work on connecting to sewer connections on Monday, May 15 with work being carried out using multi-way traffic signals.”

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes South West said: “It is correct that our planning consent states we cannot start work on site until 8am and we are abiding by that restriction.

“We have told our external suppliers not to turn up at site before 8am. It appears that some HGVs have turned up early and have chosen to wait on a public highway, which they are legally permitted to do.

“The roadworks will inevitable cause some disruption. This work is necessary while we carry out essential groundworks in relation to this development. However, our method statements and risk assessments for this work have been fully approved by Devon County Council. Furthermore, all the correct traffic management signage and barriers will be in place before work starts.

“As always, we will work to keep disruption to a minimum and would encourage any residents with concerns to talk to our team.”