Construction is to begin on 97 new homes in Walton.

Developer Bellway has just announced it will begin work on the 8.6are Rivernook Farm next month.

Planning permission was granted for the build in November 2017, despite objections from nearby residents.

Concerns raised included loss of privacy, impact on the environment, and an “inevitable” noise increase in a “quiet and peaceful” area.

One Sunnyside resident said: “This development will completely change the quiet and peaceful nature of the area.

“This volume of new housing will also dramatically increase the volume of traffic in what has already become an area regularly strangled by the number of cars queuing back from the town centre.

“97 new dwellings will more than likely involve well in excess of 97 new vehicles.”

Concerns were also raised about plans to cuts down trees around the site.

There are plans to remove all the trees along the boundary between the site and homes.

After seeing the plans, a Waterside Drive resident said: “This will completely open our property up.

“These trees are habitat for a large number of birds, I am out late at night during our lambing season and am amazed by the amount of barn owl activity around those trees.”

Bellway bought the land from Angle Property last year, which had plans to build 83 homes on the site.

Bellway increased this by 14, which some have described as “unacceptable”.

However, when planning permission was granted a spokesman for Bellway said the build will “provide much-needed homes”

The new development, which will be called Sunnyside, will feature two, three and four-bedroom homes including houses and apartments.

It will also contain more than five hectares of public open space including a central green.

Michael Smith, construction director for Bellway’s south London division, said: “We are very much looking forward to starting work on our Sunnyside development, with groundworks due to begin by the end of next month.

“Sunnyside will transform a brownfield site into a development which will provide much-needed new homes for a wide range of people.

“Enquiries into the homes have been arriving thick and fast at our head office, so we are expecting the homes to be popular.

“The wide mixture of homes will provide a home for people at all stages of the housing ladder – with apartments and smaller properties designed to suit first-time buyers and young couples, while the larger homes will be ideal for growing families.

“We’re committed to helping meet demand for new homes in the area, and are looking forward to beginning work on the development next month.”

The first homes are expected to be released for sale this Spring.