CRITICS have vowed to block a property developer's claim for £277,000 of taxpayers' money to pay for a 'public' work of art it built inside a gated housing estate.

Councillors and residents in South Woodford, have demanded that Redbridge Council stop negotiating with Telford Homes over their request to be refunded the full cost of an ornamental waterfall in the Queen Mary's Gate development.

Developers have to pay a proportion of construction costs to the local authority for public works in what is known as a section 106 agreement. Redbridge Council has decided that it wants the money from the Queen Mary's Gate development spent on public art, but Telford claims the waterfall counts as a public work despite it being in a private development.

At an area two meeting Church End ward councillor Richard Hoskins said it was nonsense' to describe the water feature as public art and promised to join other councillors in opposing the request.

He added: "This is a private estate, not public land. If I built a pond in my back garden I wouldn't expect the council to pay for it.

"It's complete nonsense for them to try and sell this waterfall as public art, because it will be locked away behind gates where no member of the public can see it.

"The council has £500,000 in section 106 funding earmarked for artwork in South Woodford, and I would like to see a public consultation to decide what this will be used for as soon as possible."

Ron Wortley Millek, of Forest Approach, told the meeting he would rather not see the money spent on art at all and would like to see environmentally-friendly soundproofing for the A406.

He said: "It's ridiculous to claim public money for something hardly any residents can enjoy.

"The A406 produces a huge amount of noise, and I think this money would be much better used to line its walls in sound absorbing material, which could be covered in a mural or natural foliage."

A spokesman for Telford Homes said: "We are still in consultation with the council regarding the public art funding allocation for the Queen Mary's Gate development in South Woodford.

"Once a final decision has been reached and the legal agreements concluded, we will be pleased to provide further information on this public art."