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Demolition work on a Liverpool’s £350m regeneration project has been halted by a resident’s last-minute injunction.

Bulldozers were due to start demolishing hundreds of Victorian homes yesterday to turn Edge lane into a dual carriageway. But an injunction issued over the weekend by protesters has blocked the work.

Campaigners want to preserve about 400 homes and prevent plans to widen the road and build a new community next to it. They hope the injunction will halt the work while their legal battle to overturn a compulsory purchase order goes through the courts.

Lawyers for the council and the developer Liverpool Land Development Company (LLDC) are today studying the papers.

Ian Hassall, development director of Liverpool Land Development Company said: "We are aware that an injunction has been served to prevent the demolition of derelict properties on Edge Lane.

"We are currently consulting with our lawyers and considering the implications of this injunction and the options open to us and our partners."

The development, which involves improving roads and providing some 550 homes and more than 1 million ft² of commercial, retail and community space, had been heralded by supporters as the city’s new gateway to the east, creating 1900 jobs.

LLDC’s partners include the North-west regional development agency, English Partnerships, Kensington Regeneration, Community 7 Housing Association and the New Heartlands market renewal pathfinder.