Residents say promises broken over ex-airbase homes

Fed-up residents, Garth Tolmie and Jane Seaney, are demanding landowners build play areas

Homeowners who live in former military housing claimed promises had been broken and their "eyesore" estate now has "issues with rodents".

Properties on Lord’s Walk in Eriswell, next to the USAF base of RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, were previously occupied by military personnel when the land was rented by the base.

The land was sold to the private sector in 2012 before its new owner put the site's 570 homes on to the market in several phases from 2014.

Prospective buyers said they were promised children’s play areas and were told social spaces would be developed - but more than a decade on, residents said they were still waiting. The BBC has contacted the landowner for comment.

Resident Jane Seaney, 55, felt young people in the area have been stripped of a rich childhood due to the lack of play areas on the estate

“It’s really sad because my son and daughter have never had anywhere they can go,” said Jane Seaney, 55, who purchased her four-bed home for £165,000 back in 2015.

“There is nothing for the children to do here and that can lead to anti-social behaviour and boredom – it makes me really frustrated.

“As a community we literally have nothing and until the corner shop popped up a few years ago, you couldn’t even walk and get a pint of milk.

“My biggest concern is children have to walk through wet and muddy fields to get the school bus and there is no lighting – it’s a mess and we have issues with rodents.

“We were told the whole site was going to be rejuvenated but that never happened.”

One of the vacant plots of land that residents believed a children's play would be built

Prospective buyers said they were given brochures with images of what the estate would look like once built

The ownership of the estate has changed hands on multiple occasions but several attempts to build more homes on vacant pockets of land have been thrown out.

Garth Tolmie, 65, moved into his home on Lord’s Walk nine years ago and said he would “love this place to become a normal village, with normal amenities”.

“I have family here and grandchildren who, in the last couple of years, have become disinterested in this area and they instead stay indoors,” he said.

“If you look around, people have developed their back gardens to be a substitute for a social play area.

“I’d like to see children’s play areas and a park where families can go and sit and have a good time and can get their children out of the house and into the wild.”

Garth Tolmie, 65, wants to see a children's play area built on the estate

The BBC attempted to put the concerns raised to the current landowner but received no response.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said: "Although we maintain most roads and footpaths, Lord's Walk is only partly managed by Suffolk County Council.

"The locations are all subject to routine inspections and any defects that meet the criteria will be ordered for repair.

"We encourage residents to report any issues to Suffolk Highways."