Planning chiefs have told housebuilder Persimmon that it will have to stop work on a major new development if it fails to come up with traffic management plan.

The plan was one of the conditions for the project to build 500 new homes at Carleton Heights, Penrith.

Planning permission was granted in August of last year for the development, subject to a number of planning conditions.

One key condition was the preparation of a Construction Traffic Management Plan (“CTMP”), which should have been submitted to the council for approval before before work started.

The plan was supposed to confirm: where construction vehicles would access the site; what times of day those vehicles would enter or leave the site; the number of vehicles arriving each day; and the route those vehicles will take.

The aim was to ensure minimum disturbance to residents throughout the construction period.

A council spokesman said there had been complaints about the development from local residents.

A Breach of Condition Notice was issued and served on the firm on November 16, requiring that the condition is complied with by no later than March 16 of next year.

A council spokesman said that if the developers continue to develop the site after March 16 without complying with the planning condition they will be committing a criminal offence.

Councillor John Thompson, chairman of Eden District Council’s planning committee, said: “This site will deliver over 500 much needed homes to Penrith over the coming years and we are grateful that developers are investing in Eden.

"However I want developers to be crystal clear that they must and will be required to comply with their planning conditions or they will receive a visit from our planning enforcement officers.

"We do not tolerate developers breaching their planning requirements.

"The Council will take legal action when breaches of planning conditions impact on the safety and amenity of our residents.”

He said construction traffic can have a big impact on the lives of residents if developers ignore planning conditions. Eden District Council will use all legal powers at its disposal to ensure planning conditions are followed, he added.