THEY were frustrated in March and now residents of Winchester’s newest major housing estate are growing even more unhappy at the wait for many snags to be sorted.

Problems at Kings Barton Forum include sewage smells, lack of traffic signs and street furniture and potholes.

One resident, Dr Antonio De Stefano, told the forum: "Phase 1b has been completed and fully occupied for two years. It is a lovely place to live but there are problems with bad maintenance. I have been making complaints for 15 months and CALA does nothing. The residents are not happy, they are exasperated. It is upsetting to hear promises and nothing happens. We hope not to be disappointed again.

"These delays jeopardise not only CALA's reputation but the credibility of the whole forum."

Phase 1 has 223 homes and so far some 330 homes have been occupied in the 2,000-home development.

Catherine Zucca, chairman of the Kings Barton Residents Association, who in March said they has been waiting two years for benches, dog bins and litter bins, told the forum: "We have been asking for street furniture for years and have been very patient. We hope you are putting more pressure on the suppliers than we're putting on you."

Viv Hill, head of design at CALA Homes (Thames), said there were problems with suppliers but he hoped to get it installed by mid-August.

Ian Curry, technical director at CALA, expressed his frustration at the delays and told the forum: "I might be able to beat a few people up to make it happen quicker."

Ms Zucca said about the street furniture: "This is a fast-growing community and you are selling houses very quickly. We are requesting some things to improve our lives and the lives of people coming after. Most people are happy to live here. We want to see the development grow to become a community."

Electric charging points will be installed in the estate yet to be built but will not be installed on the parts already built. Mr Curry said there would be issues about adapting existing sub-stations and there were no plans to install them.

Meanwhile a chronic intermittent sewage smell has still not been sorted and CALA said it is working hard to sort it bringing in experts to help. Mr Curry admitted: "We are all flummoxed by the issue. We have contacted Southern Water and they have had CCTV to make sure there are no blockages. We are a little at a loss why this is happening. A meeting between various parties was due to be held last Wednesday.

On the issue of the road surfacing, Mr Curry said Hampshire County Council was planning a redesign of Winchester Avenue, the main road through the estate, including the central strip and raised tables at junctions,and this meant CALA could not finally finish many of the roads. Technical approval was awaited by the county council.

The environment was the forum. Tim Norris, of Hampshire Swifts, said Swift numbers have fallen by two-thirds in the last 25 years, the loss of 100,000 pairs, largely blamed on changes in construction methods.

Mr Hill said CALA has an urban wildlife strategy and will install 'bird bricks' on all suitable properties. Hedgehog highways, holes in garden fences, will be erected anas will special bricks for bees and other insects.

A post box is due to be installed by the end of the summer in phase 1b.

Three hundred and thirty homes have been completed. The opening of Winchester Avenue and the closure of Andover Road to through traffic is due at 650 occupations as is the park and ride. The community centre and pub is due at 1,000 occupations.

The next forum is on October 19.