COUNCIL chiefs are being urged to give residents a rest and stop construction work being permitted at weekends.

Central ward councillor Bronwen McGarrity says residents close to the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Khalsa Avenue, Gravesend, have endured noisy disturbances from construction work on their doorsteps for five years.

She said residents have no peace at the weekend because project workers are often given permission to work on Saturday and Sunday.

Gardens in summer are no-go areas because of all the dust and noise.

Cllr McGarrity claims requests for extended working hours at the weekend arrive at the council at the last minute.

She said this means officers do not have time to consult the planning committee meaning they have to make a snap decision.

Because of the town's desperate need for parking, Cllr McGarrity says the officers let the work go ahead on recent weekends because it includes a 106-space car park which was due to open in November but was delayed until February.

Cllr McGarrity says project workers at the Gurdwara are manipulating the planning system to ensure they get their own way.

She is calling for the council to put a stop to out-of-hours construction and planning requests.

The Gurdwara, which will cost £6m, is being financed by the Sikh community and is expected to open in 2008.

Cllr McGarrity said: "I think most people would agree the building of the Gurdwara is an admirable project.

"(But) people deserve their peace."

Wellington Street resident Mary Jones, 62, said: "You give an inch and they take a mile. I am against the whole thing."

A Wellington Street resident who did not want to be named, said: "We are fed up of complaining. They should never have been allowed to build it in a built-up area."

Gurdwara project manager Teja Biring said: "It's not for our benefit, we are trying to bring the car park forward to help the public."

A spokesman for the council said: "Applications from the Gurdwara have been scrutinised, and where appropriate, granted."