‘Greedy Pigs!’ Furious Residents Spray Graffiti on Hoardings of Controversial Priory Road Development.

Locals in Harold Hill are furious as a green space once home to deer and birds is torn up to make way for new houses.

Residents living on Priory Road in Harold Hill say they have been left devastated by the development of five new houses being built on their small, quiet residential street. The application, brought forward by Mercury Land Holdings – Havering Council’s own development company – has sparked widespread anger among the community.

Locals claim the once-peaceful road, where “deer openly grazed and birds filled the trees”, has been destroyed by noise, heavy lorries, and the loss of green space. One resident told the Havering Daily: “We’ve lost something precious. Our street was full of nature, and now all we hear is drilling, engines, and the sound of lorries breaking up the verges.”

Lorries trashing grass verges.

The site has also become a target for protest graffiti. Angry messages scrawled on the boards accuse Mercury Land Holdings of being “greedy pigs who should build near their own homes instead.”

Residents say they feel ignored, with their objections dismissed despite repeated complaints. Priory Road, they stress, is a narrow, quiet road not designed for large-scale construction traffic.

A Havering Council spokesperson told the Havering Daily that the project is part of their housing delivery programme, intended to “address urgent demand for new homes in the borough.”

But for residents, this is little comfort.

The controversy looks set to rumble on as residents continue to voice their anger and frustration at a scheme many feel symbolises the wider battle between housing needs and the loss of Havering’s precious green spaces.

A spokesperson for Havering Council told the Havering Daily:

Construction is underway to deliver five new high-quality family homes on Priory Road on behalf of Mercury Land Holdings.

“The homes have been designed to be sympathetic to the surrounding area, and also retain the public access through to the woodland/park.

“The five-bed family homes are due for completion in the spring of 2026.”

Greedy Pigs Graffiti sprayed on hoardings.

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