NEW homes in York may have to be knocked down and rebuilt, after it emerged they had been put in the wrong place.

Yorkshire Housing has almost finished its Hob Stone development of 55 houses on the site of the old Our Lady's RC School, off Windsor Garth in Acomb, but a late check of the site revealed the development did not match the plans that were approved by council planners in 2013.

Some of the houses have been built fractionally out of position - some by as little as 11cm (just over four inches). An access road also varies from the agreed plan.

The development was built as affordable housing, but families expecting to move into the new homes imminently now face having to wait months longer for their keys, even if the houses are eventually approved.

Of the 55 homes, sales have been agreed for 14 and the other 41 are for rent.

York Press:

The old Our Lady's School, which was demolished 

Building control officials have refused to sign off the work, meaning Yorkshire Housing has had to submit a new planning application seeking approval for what it has built. The housing association expects it to take three months for that to be decided.

City of York Council could theoretically refuse permission, which could lead to planning enforcement action. That could ultimately lead to homes having to be rebuilt, although it is more likely that the council will grant retrospective permission.

Prospective resident Trisha Lee told The Press her application to rent a three-bedroom house was accepted in May and she was due to move in on July 4.

She said: "Over the ensuing weeks I visited the site many times and stood at the gates and pointed out our new house to my two boys to get them excited about the move. I realised that far from becoming busier, work seemed to be stopping and less and less contractors were around."

She said she was told of the site problems only six days before her planned moving date and said: "We have had a very stressful last minute search for somewhere to live while we wait for Hob Stone to become available."

She has found a short-term let in Fulford but said: "The stress continues as we are facing not one but two house moves in a short space of time with the accompanying costs and also the worry of the council planning office not signing off the site and what we will do then. We are just one of 55 families in this situation and we need a solution to happen quickly."

Westfield councillor Sue Hunter said residents in nearby streets would also be dismayed.

She said it had been a protracted building project in a constrained road network, and it had taken longer than planned due to the collapse of the original builders.

She said: "Planning enforcement have been called out on a number of occasions, the 24 bus has had difficulty in coming along Windsor Garth for months, and parking has been a major problem for years now. I would hope that this can be resolved as quickly as possible, and that assurances can be made to existing local residents.”

A Yorkshire Housing spokesperson said: “A review of the site by our contractors highlighted two issues that need input from planners before the site can be signed off.

“The site entrance was changed to accommodate a power cable and to meet highway requirements. There are also minor variations of between 11 and 75cm to where the houses sit in their plots.

“We have worked with our contractors to submit a ‘Variation to a Condition’ application which can take up to 13 weeks for the council planning department to process.

“We are keeping customers who are renting or buying the affected homes up-to- date with progress and will do as much as possible to make sure that people can move into the homes they are renting or buying as soon as possible.”

The development was embroiled in controversy in the past, because the site lies within the Hob Moor Stray area and the Friends of Hob Moor had raised concerns that it would harm the nearby nature reserve.

York Natural Environment Panel also raised concerns, but Yorkshire Housing said the development would help ease York's affordable housing crisis and the council ruled that although the development could impact on Hob Moor visually, the common could be safeguarded.