NOISE and pollution coming from an Earley housing development are causing neighbours to consider selling their homes as they become increasingly concerned about over-crowding in the area.

A 89-home redevelopment of the former Reading University halls of residence site, near Redhatch Drive and Radstock Lane, is popular with buyers, with more than 70 per cent of the properties having all ready been sold.

Yet noise and dust have become a frequent problem for neighbouring residents as the project — run by developer Charles Church — progresses, with four homes in Radstock Lane being put up for sale in quick succession.

Judith Campbell, 51, of Redhatch Drive, said she and her neighbours are fed up with constantly cleaning their cars and added: “We can’t park our cars on this side of the road without them getting covered in dirt.

“We hate it, we are very unsympathetic to the work in the area, this road is going to be flooded with traffic.”

Catherine Hogan, 62, who lives in Somerton Gardens, said she feels uncomfortable in her own home.

She said: “There’s always lots of dust blowing over, no one has approached the established community to offer help to clean up.

“We have to keep our bedroom window shut now, which is a problem in the summer.”

Earley Town councillor Peter Willis, a resident of nearby Clevedon Drive, argued that even though the dust is a valid concern, it is just a “temporary” problem.

He was the town’s mayor between May 2010 and May 2011, when the plans were initially approved, and is now more worried about a squeeze on the number of school places in the area, as more new families arrive.

Cllr Willis said: “The dust is very temporary, it will disappear over the next three to four months. People are sad that more homes are going in.

“Radstock School is already overcrowded and over-subscribed.

If more families move in to Sibley Park where are all the children

going to go? There’s no place for them”.

Cllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor, executive member for children’s services at Wokingham Borough, told the Chronicle that provisions have been put in place to cope with higher demands.

She said: “As with all developments we sought contributions from the developer towards school provision, in proportion to the size of the development. This development, while a significant one in terms of scale for Earley, will not create significant numbers of additional pupils. We have in the recent past expanded Hawkedon School to meet local demand.”

Site manager of the Sibly Park development, Paul Brown, said: “We have road sweepers servicing the site every day and are continually monitoring the situation.”