IRATE residents fighting a multi-million pound housing and tourism project today branded the developers "totally insensitive" for advertising the homes before the issue is settled.

IRATE residents fighting a multi-million pound housing and tourism project today branded the developers "totally insensitive" for advertising the homes before the issue is settled.

Bloor Homes have not even put in a planning application yet for the controversial scheme – let alone received consent – but their homes for sale adverts say they will soon be opening a new site in Felixstowe.

Today though the company said the adverts had been a mistake and apologised to residents for jumping the gun.

Edwina Rust, of the Save South Seafront Soakaway Association, said: "It is totally insensitive – they know how upset the residents are about this scheme and we are still campaigning against it.

"We are trying to persuade the authorities how wrong it would be to build here and the company which is in partnership with the council is already advertising the homes.

"If that is not pre-empting the issue, I don't know what is. It feels as if everyone is just riding roughshod over the public," she said.

"The council should be listening to us and respecting our views about where we live, not just pressing on and doing this scheme whatever."

Suffolk Coastal council is working with Bloor Homes on the scheme for the 17-acre seafront site.

The land between Orford Road and the Manor Club will feature 189 homes, an amphitheatre, children's play areas, beach café, cycle route, sculptures, 230 parking spaces and a restaurant-bar.

Residents in Manor Terrace though are extremely concerned that some of the homes – which will range from one-bed apartments to four-bed houses – will be built on open land in front of their homes.

They say this land acts as a "soakaway" to drain flood water when the waves overtop the sea wall and threaten homes.

Andrew Marns, land manager for Bloor Homes, said the adverts for the new homes should not have been printed.

"These had not been sanctioned at all and I give our apologies to the residents. We are working positively on the project but the advert was a little premature to say the least. I will investigate," he said.

Council chiefs had been expecting a planning application in the autumn, then by the end of the year, then in January and then February, but it has still not been completed and the issue may not now be settled before the May elections.