A batch of brand new homes in Clavering costing up to £500,000 are being lived in without mains electricity or a phone line.

The Clover Field development, in Oxleys Close, built by Matthew Homes, boasts 14 new three and four bedroom properties, but residents who have already moved in are currently receiving their electricity from a site generator.

The new home owners are also facing serious issues over the lack of a working phone line, with extremely limited mobile phone reception in the Essex village and no internet connection rendering them virtually uncontactable.

One resident, who moved in four weeks ago but did not want to be named, said: “The electricity runs through a generator out the back. To be honest, the electricity hasn’t been as much of a problem as the phone line. I’ve been here for four weeks now and we’ve still got absolutely nothing, it’s a nightmare. We haven’t been given a date from BT as to when it’s all going to be sorted out, it’s very frustrating.”

It is believed that three of the houses are currently occupied and the resident said that some people had put off moving into their new properties due to the lack of services. Of the 14 houses on the development, which range from £340,000 to £500,000, eight have already sold, three have been reserved for sale and three remain on the market.

It is not the first time that BT owned company Openreach has received criticism over the installation of phone lines and broadband services at new developments.

Last year the telecommunications regulator Ofcom imposed a “quality of service” requirement on Openreach which obliges it to send an engineer within 12 days of a new line being ordered. It has until next April to meet the new targets set by the independent regulator.

A spokesman for BT said they were urgently investigating the situation at the site.

Steve Turner, from the Home Builders Federation, said: “During a site’s development house builders put in the infrastructure to ensure that utilities can be supplied to the site in a timely manner. We work closely with Openreach and other suppliers to ensure these services.”

Developer Matthew Homes were contacted but were unable to reply by deadline.