A HOUSE builder has been criticised for using a sprinkler system to water its show home lawns.

While most places across Basingstoke are suffering from a lack of rainfall, with grass turning dry and yellow, the new show homes in Old Basing have lush green lawns after being watered using a sprinkler system.

Read more: IN PICTURES: Basingstoke suffers from driest July on record

Redrow is building 100 new homes on the 11.6 acre Cromwell Court site near Swing Swang Lane, next to the Hampshire Clinic.

Chineham resident Mat Diss criticised the house builder for using sprinklers to water the lawns in the middle of the day.

He said: “I was shocked to discover they had three sprinklers running to water their show home lawns. In this time of potential hosepipe bans and us all being encouraged to save water, it is frustrating to see them using 3,000 litres per hour to water the grass.

“The sprinklers were on in the middle of the day, so most of the water will evaporate anyway.”

Basingstoke does not currently have any water restrictions in place, however, South East Water has asked residents to “apply voluntary restraint on the amount of water they use”.

Read more: South East Water set to enforce hosepipe ban - but not for Basingstoke

In July, the company reminded its customers to reduce “non-essential water use”.

It said: “With the ground very dry and little rainfall forecast, the water company is asking communities to stop when they turn on the tap, think do they really need that water now and take action by putting hosepipes and sprinklers away while this unprecedented major pressure on the water network continues”.

Douglas Whitfield, operations director at South East Water, said at the time: “We cannot now say this more strongly. Please can people use only the water they need to keep hydrated and clean?”

He added: “Stop, think and act – just three words that can help return crucial water needed by our communities at this very difficult time. As current conditions stand, one person’s paddling pool is another family’s drinking water for a week.”

The company introduced Temporary Use Bans (TUBs) in Kent and Sussex which began on Friday, August 12, but has not yet extended this to cover Basingstoke.

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When asked about the sprinklers being used on its show home lawns in Old Basing, Mark Vanson, sales director at Redrow Southern Counties, said the company is “working to reduce our usage” of water.

He added: “South East Water, which supplies our Cromwell Court community, has confirmed that there is not currently a hosepipe ban in this area. However, we are monitoring the situation closely and are working to reduce our usage.

“As the landscaping in the garden of our show homes has only just been installed, the plants and grass do require some water in order to bed in successfully and we are managing this in line with guidance issued to us by the local water authority.”