Kier Living Ltd is building 162 homes on the land near Deerbolt Young Offenders’ Institute, off the A67, in Startforth.
Fencing was erected around the site earlier this summer but dog walkers and pedestrians are unhappy an adjoining footpath has been blocked off.
Keith Tarn has lived in Startforth for nearly 38 years and often used the path to walk his dog.
He said: “I cannot work it out. If they put the fence up on the right side we could have still used all of that.”
Villager Liz Franklin was also less than pleased.
She said: “Lots of people used to use it. I just feel like they are taking away the
village without our permission.
“I don’t object to the housing in itself but the way they are doing it feels like they are riding roughshod over people.”
Parish councillor Chris Carr harboured a safety concern.
He said: “The path does offer a safe route down the road side for school children because it’s such a quick road.”
A sign near the fence erected by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) states use of the marked footpath “may be withdrawn at any time”, instructing pedestrians to keep to the footpath and keep dogs under close control.
A spokesman from the HCA said the path was now part of a construction site and Kier had closed the stretch for health and safety reasons.
He added: “They have a duty of care to the public. We put these little signs up so people should not be walking dogs on there – maybe people got used to using it but it’s not a footpath and there are other routes across the site.”
The housing estate will be made up of 55 two-bedroomed houses, 48 three-bedroomed properties and 59 four-bedroomed homes, including 24 affordable homes.
Questions had been raised over who was responsible for the path given the access it had offered in years gone by.
But a spokesperson for Durham County Council confirmed it had always been on private land and historical access to it had been granted in the past by the landowner.
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