Our £215k new-build homes have been slammed by snobs who say we're living in a 'prison' with fake grass gardens - but here's why we LOVE them

A 'soulless' newbuild estate slammed for looking like a 'prison or a military base' has been defended by indignant residents who claim they love it. 

The £215,000 homes in Spring Vale Mews in Bacup were built without any front gardens, trees or shrubbery by the Kirkwells Group and locals have raised concerns that a lack of street drains present a flood risk. 

In planning documents, it's clear that the finished properties were intended to have green space with bordering 'Pyracantha orange glow hedges.' 

However, aerial shots of the Lancashire estate reveal a different story, showing two rows of new houses adrift in a car park with artificial grass gardens. 

Many people have taken to mocking the street on Twitter after a picture of the newbuilds were shared online with the caption: 'F*** trees and all that green s***! Grey Infrastructure.' 

The drab estate was immediately attacked by users who joked it had 'great biodiversity.' 

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

One joked that it had clearly been designed for families. 

They remarked: 'Nice little pavement there for the kids to play on' 

Despite this barrage, the indignant residents of Spring Vale Mews have doubled down and said their houses are great.

John Bull, 32, who has lived in the house for only a few days, said: 'I wasn't aware of the criticism.

'We have only just moved in but we haven't had any problems.

'We've had a lot of heavy rain over the last few days and we've not had any flooding.

'It is a nice house and I don't see any problems with not having a front garden.

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

The cyber security specialist added: 'There might not be any plants or trees on this part of the road but there are everywhere else around us.'

Jordan Hardwick, 28, who works on the railways, said: 'I prefer to have a drive so I can park my car off the road.

'If houses don't have drives, and family and friends come to visit, the street can become very crammed.

'There is a garden at the back. It is not the biggest garden but it's good enough and we can use it.

'There are green spaces close by.'

He added: 'What concerns me more is the lack of street lighting. There isn't a signal street light on the road.

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

'We have to rely on the external lights on our houses to light up the street.'

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

He said: 'They are decent houses and people want different things from houses.

'Younger people like myself aren't interested in gardens that have to be maintained so this is ideal for me.

'I want a house that I can move straight into and this is what I have got.

'They are practical, low maintenance houses.

'It's not exactly a concrete jungle.'

Karen Burgess, 59, said: 'I really can't see what the problem is.

'They are nice houses and it's a great improvement on what was there before the houses were built.

'The houses are built on a former factory which was derelict for years.

'It was set on fire a couple of times before it was finally knocked down.'

Karen, who has lived on the street for 38 years, added: 'It was left as wasteland for a while, which just attracted flytippers who dumped mattresses. Then kids would start fires on it.

'It was a mess and I'm glad they have built houses on it.'

MailOnline has approached Rossendale Council and the Kirkwells Group for comment.