RESIDENTS claim their housing estate has been turned into a building site with two major projects going on at the same time.

They can only access their homes via a temporary road after the main access was blocked off almost two years ago to allow a new road to be built.

And now, before that road has been completed, construction has started on dozens of flats.

One neighbour says parking is a nightmare, pedestrians take their lives into their own hands and visitors often can’t find the houses they’re looking for.

The road into and out of Taunton’s Priory Park has been closed off for nearly two years since work started on the Northern Inner Distributor Road being built between Staplegrove Road and Priory Avenue.

Vivien Parker, of Geoffrey Farrant Walk, said: “They blocked off the road to build the roundabout at the end of Priory Bridge Road, so we have to get to our homes using a temporary access.

“We thought the road was going to be finished last year, but now we’re told they don’t have a completion date.

“To make things worse, they’ve now started work building dozens of flats on the old car park.

“One woman told me her whole house vibrates and she can’t put up with the noise and I’ve seen people walking along the road oblivious to the dangers of all the traffic – health and safety has gone out the window.

“I’m not objecting to the road or the flats, it’s just that both projects are going on at the same time. One should have been finished before the other one started.

“We feel like we’re in a prison – we haven’t got a proper road and now we’ve got people competing for parking spaces and it gets worse when the cricket’s on.”

A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: “Vehicle access to this estate is currently provided through a temporary road to allow safe construction of the south eastern end of the NIDR.

“We apologise if this causes any short-term inconvenience, but this road is a temporary measure and all concerns raised were considered by the regulation committee before temporary planning permission was granted.

“Further unrelated house building on the former car park has recently started, which was considered and granted planning permission by Taunton Deane Council.”

A Deane spokeswoman said: “The council cannot control when development can take place in relation to other projects.”