Sunday work ‘essential’

obvious inability to act decisively in the face of blatant and repeated failures to abide by planning and building control requirements.

“PKC has the power to exclude Persimmon from the site for one day every time they work on a Sunday in defiance of planning conditions.

“Persimmon would therefore gain nothing by working on days when planning permissions states they should not.”

However Iain Innes has since said: “We were on site on Sunday morning for a limited period to carry out emergency repairs to a water connection that had failed and was causing slurry on site.

“This work had to be dealt with immediately. We did everything we could to minimise any inconvenience to adjacent residents.”

A PKC spokesperson confirmed this week it is investigating the group’s claims Persimmon breached the terms of their planning consent and asked for evidence to support the claims.

“As the planning authority, PKC previously served a formal notice, in December 2017, requiring compliance due to a previous breach of the condition,” the spokesperson explained.

“This states the hours of operation at the construction stage are Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm and Saturday 8 am to 1pm with no works on a Sunday, unless otherwise agreed in writing with the planning authority.

“The site is divided between two contractors, Springfield and Persimmon.

“Although Persimmon has been served a notice, Springfield has not.

“If the planning authority can verify the allegation that the hours of operation are being breached and can identify those responsible, it will be in a position to take further steps.

“An investigation is therefore now underway.

“If any photographic or filmed record of the works being undertaken can be supplied, this would assist the planning authority in identifying which developer is responsible for the alleged breach, as well as verify that a breach has taken place.”