Builders have been given four months to remove a “horrendous chalk scar” blotting the landscape on a housing estate.

The ugly blob of white at Maxton, Dover, has been visible from hilltops over the last year, leading to complaints from residents.

Now Dover District Council (DDC) has ordered the developers to wipe it out, having already commanded them to stop certain works in the summer.

A spokesman said its planning enforcement team found the “depositing of chalk was an unauthorised operation”.

“It had resulted in an unsympathetic alteration to the site and wider landscape,” they said.

“An enforcement notice has been served requiring the land to be reinstated to its previous levels.

“This is to remove all resultant material and to deposit a layer of topsoil over the land.”

This action follows the serving of a temporary stop notice in August.

The enforcement notice, slapped on the company on October 31, takes effect from November 30 and has a compliance period of four months.

Ward district councillor Michael Nee (Lab) said the notice “requires several steps to resolve the breach of planning control”.

He said the builders have a right to appeal and if that is lodged the notice can be suspended until the Planning Inspectorate makes a decision.

In August, DDC imposed an immediate two-month halt on certain engineering work at the Enzo’s Homes’ development in Folkestone Road amid concerns about harm to wildlife and the area’s “scenic beauty”.

The order was effective from August 25 until October 18.

Work affected included engineering works relating to terracing, compaction and regrading of spoil within the site.

The marked land, on the Kent Downs National Landscape, was noticed by hillwalkers from miles away, including Dover Western Heights, at least from summer 2023.

Council leader Kevin Mills (Lab) described it as a “horrendous chalk scar” and remarked it was “probably the only site you can see from the moon”.

Enzo’s Homes, of Carmarthenshire in Wales, began working on the site in summer 2022 to put up 29 houses and flats.

The company’s owner, Enzo Sauro, said in August that the homes were nearing completion and should be finished by February.

He stressed the only work stopped then was the levelling out of a bank at the rear of the site because of its steepness.

He added the company was liaising with planning officers.

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KentOnline has asked Enzo’s Homes to comment on the latest development.

National Landscapes were formerly known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.