WHEN four new Liphook residents moved into East Hampshire's first state-of-the art low-energy homes in the centre of the village they thought their dreams had all come true.
But their dreams turned to nightmares when things started to go wrong in their new homes.
And all the energy conservation features in them were this week branded "a waste of time".
The catalogue of disaster includes major leaks through the roofs in all four homes; front doors and gates that don't close, a window falling out; the rainwater recycling feature failing to work, and unacceptable noise levels between the houses.
In one home the tenants have faced electricity bills twice as big as those in their previous home.
The houses were built for the Hyde Housing Association in a partnership project with East Hampshire District Council, which had provided grants for the scheme.
They had all the latest energy-saving technology including solar panels and rainwater recycling, which were supposed to keep the bills down.
The homes were unveiled by television's best-known environmentalist, Chris Packham, at a special housing conference in Liphook last July.
The tenants' district councillor, Anna James, has been supporting them in their bid to get repairs carried out.
She said: "They were all thrilled to get the houses and couldn't wait to get there. There were long delays getting them in in the first place.
"Eventually they arrived and it was a dream, but there has been nothing but trouble since then and the dream is becoming a nightmare."
Mrs James said there had been major leaks in all four houses from faulty roofs and scaffolding had been erected for several weeks to try to rectify the problem.
"All the environmentally friendly and conservation features are a waste of time at the moment," Mrs James told The Herald, "and the cost of running these houses is high – one householder has had bills twice as high as the house they came from."
She said the houses had cost more than all the other affordable homes to build, yet there had been nothing but building problems with them.
"They are taking all this time to resolve and I think these four occupants deserve better," she said.
A Hyde Housing Association spokesman commented: "The problems have been identitied, and we are working hard to resolve these with the contractors concerned.
"In spite of these problems, tenants have expressed their pleasure at the appearance of their homes and the spacious accommodation.
"There is also appreciation of the value of an environmentally-friendly approach to rebuild. We are certain that once the problems are resolved, our tenants will be delighted with their homes."