Residents living near a housing construction site say their lives have become insufferable due to the constant thumping of pile-driving.

Bellway Homes is in the process of building 421 homes around St Nicholas Church in Downswood as part of its Parsonage Place development.

A pile-driver started work on the site on Monday, and even though it is wrapped in what is supposed to be a sound-deadening sleeve, neighbours say the noise is unbearable.

Patrick Morgan, of Monksdown, said: “We had a previous spell of this about six weeks ago. That was bad enough, but now it seems even louder.

“I measured it with an app on my phone on Monday and it peaked at 90 decibels.

“It’s not just the volume; it’s that it’s a constant thump, thump all day long. It’s driving us nuts!”

John Everett, of the Downswood Community Association, agreed. He said: “I live about two minutes away. The noise is totally unreasonable. It’s constant all day from about 8am till 4pm.”

The Downswood Community Hub Facebook page is also filled with complaints.

Tom O’Mitchell told the group: “It’s driving me mad! It’s definitely louder than it was when they were doing it months ago.”

Paul Moore described it as “unbelievably loud, while Diana Sandford said: “We can hear it down by St Peter’s Catholic Church. So loud!

“Sounded like it was next door – I even opened doors to see which of my neighbours was building!”

Others reported hearing the noise from their homes in Willington Street, Grampian Way and Otham.

The Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Gordon Newton, ls one of those living closest to the site.

He said: “It was so loud when I came home on Monday afternoon that I marched straight round to the site to speak to the site manager.

“He agreed to come back to my house to hear for himself how loud it was. But when we were there, he took out a device to measure the volume, he proved to me that it was well below permitted levels.”

The Mayor reminded everyone that Maidstone council had refused planning permission for the estate but it was allowed by a government inspector on appeal.

Cllr Newton added: “It does seem that there is nothing we can do but put up with it. I keep my windows shut now and it’s a lot quieter.

“But I am worried about the effect this will have on St Nicholas Church, which dates from 1086 and has no foundations.”

The noise is only one of a series of actions by Bellway which is upsetting neighbours.

Mr Morgan said: “Since work started Bellway has been bringing 40-tonne trucks, sometimes up to 20 per day, in and out of the site through the Downswood estate.

“Deringwood Drive is being smashed to pieces.”

On Tuesday, Bellway dug up a local play area at The Beams in order to lay new drainage to the site.

Mr Everett said: “They pretty much seem able to do anything they like and get away with it.”

But a spokesman for Bellway said: “We always look to minimise disruption in the communities in which we operate.

“While the piling taking place on site at Parsonage Place inevitably creates some disturbance, noise and vibrations, monitoring equipment is in place and at no point has the noise or vibration exceeded the regulatory limits for this type of work.

“Maidstone Borough Council has visited the development and was entirely satisfied with the readings.”

“In addition, we have also invested in an acoustic cover for the piling rig at significant cost to further reduce noise. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during these works.

“Work at the playground close to The Beams is currently being carried out under licence from Maidstone Borough Council.

“Drainage is being installed ahead of the creation of a ramp area which will improve pedestrian, cycle and disabled access to the development.

“These improvements were agreed as part of the planning agreement and the playground will be reinstated once this essential work is complete.”

The spokesman said: “We are unaware of alleged damage caused by contractors working for Bellway. If anyone has witnessed such an incident, we would encourage them to report it to us directly.”

Any reports should be sent by email to kent-sales@bellway.co.uk