Our £215,000 new build homes have been vandalized by snobs who say we live in a ‘prison’ with fake lawns – but here’s why we love them

A “soulless” new-build complex criticized for looking like a “prison or military base” has been defended by outraged residents who claim they love it.

The £215,000 homes at Spring Vale Mews in Bacup were built by Kirkwells Group without front gardens, trees or shrubs and locals have raised concerns that a lack of street drains poses a risk of flooding.

In the planning documents it is clear that the intention was for the completed properties to have a green space with adjacent ‘Pyracantha orange glow hedges’.

However, aerial photographs of the Lancashire estate show a different story: two rows of new houses adrift in a car park with artificial grass gardens.

Many people have mocked the street on Twitter after a photo of the new build was shared online with the caption: ‘F*** trees and all that green s***! Gray infrastructure.’

The drab estate was immediately attacked by users who joked that it had ‘great biodiversity’.

Another said: ‘How these types of housing estates are allowed to be built is beyond me.’

One joked that it was clearly aimed at families.

They commented: ‘Nice sidewalk for the kids to play on’

Despite this barrage, outraged residents of Spring Vale Mews have spoken out and said their homes are great.

John Bull, 32, who has only lived in the house for a few days, said: ‘I was not aware of the criticism.

‘We’ve only just moved, but we haven’t had any problems yet.

‘Over the last few days we have had a lot of heavy rain and no flooding.

‘It’s a nice house and I don’t see any problems if I don’t have a front garden.

‘We have a garden at the back of the house that we can enjoy.’

The cyber security specialist added: ‘There may not be any plants or trees on this part of the road, but there are plants or trees all around us.’

Jordan Hardwick, 28, who works for the railways, said: ‘I prefer to drive so I can park my car off the road.

‘When houses don’t have a driveway and family and friends come to visit, the street can become very congested.

‘There’s a garden at the back. It’s not the biggest garden, but it’s good enough and we can use it.

‘There are green spaces nearby.’

He added: “What worries me more is the lack of street lighting. There are no signal street lights on the road.

‘I was the first to move in and it was very dark.

‘We depend on the external lighting of our houses to illuminate the street.’

Simon Pickles, 26, an IT specialist, disagreed with the Twitter comments and said artificial grass in backyards makes them easy to maintain.

He said: ‘They are decent houses and people want things other than houses.

‘Younger people like me aren’t interested in gardens that need to be maintained, so this is ideal for me.

‘I want a house that I can move into straight away and this is what I have.

‘These are practical, low-maintenance homes.

“It’s not exactly a concrete jungle.”

Karen Burgess, 59, said: ‘I really don’t understand what the problem is.

‘They are beautiful houses and a great improvement on what stood before the houses were built.

‘The houses were built on a former factory that has stood empty for years.

“It was set on fire a few times before it was finally taken down.”

Karen, who has lived on the street for 38 years, added: ‘It was a wasteland for a while, which only attracted fly-suckers who dumped mattresses. Then children would light a fire on it.

“It was a mess and I’m glad they built houses on it.”

MailOnline has approached Rossendale Council and Kirkwells Group for comment.