A MASSIVE scheme bringing 2,000 homes to a Hampshire city has been delayed for another month, developers have admitted.

Winchester’s Barton Farm scheme will now start in September at the earliest, missing the targeted summer start.

But hold-ups to electrical works, which led to months of traffic problems, will soon be resolved, according to developer Cala Homes.

The firm had planned to start roadworks and housebuilding during the school holidays to minimise disruption to students at Peter Symonds College.

But project director Rob Westwood, frustrated by the demands of civic chiefs, has admitted construction will start in September at the earliest.

“We’re fairly hopeful of making a start next month,” he said.

“That’s our aim at the moment, with planning conditions and the like with the councils. They keep asking for more and more information. It’s been a rather frustrating process.

“I’m pretty confident we’ll be able to start with roadworks in early September, with construction a couple of weeks after that.”

Problems getting Southern Electric to lay power lines for street lights had been resolved, he added. This means traffic cones on Andover Road North, causing a lane closure and congestion for more than six months, will soon be removed.

The Barton Farm Forum heard last month that housebuilding would start before the end of summer. The first phase includes 220 homes on the northern end of the farmland, 90 of them social housing for people on Winchester City Council’s waiting list.

The long-touted project will redirect traffic coming through north Winchester to a new neighbourhood hub.

The centre of Barton Farm will include shops, a school, a 60-bed care home, a pub or restaurant, a nursery and a community centre.

But some city city councillors feel they have been left in the dark over the scheme’s progress.

Cllr Eileen Berry, a member of the Barton Farm Forum and Conservative councillor for the neighbouring St Barnabas ward, said: “With Barton Farm there are a few things that they’re ironing out. This is just an example of how we’re all informed. What do we know about this? Not a lot.”

The council’s leader, Cllr Stephen Godfrey, said: “We nag them on a regular basis for up to date plans,” he said.

“I haven’t heard any for a while. It’s not going as fast as we would hope but we haven’t been told of any delays. We want to know what’s going on and that everyone’s moving along to a plan. We need to know what the latest milestones are.”