DIRECTORS of a York house building firm are reporting some of their busiest years on record as they work to meet a "desperate" housing need in the city through the development of one of its most iconic sites.

David Wilson Homes Yorkshire East, based at Monks Cross, has just launched for sale the first phase of The Chocolate Works, offering 43 homes on the site of the former Terry's Chocolate.

With the wider scheme set to deliver 319 properties, made up of 178 apartments and 141 houses, David Wilson Homes says it is one of the most eagerly anticipated builds it has ever worked on.

Jointly developing the site with Henry Boot, which is reworking the listed factory buildings, David Wilson Homes has been on site for a year, and now has 77 homes finished or in construction, with 55 set to be ready to move into by Christmas.

Despite above average price tags, with a one-bedroom apartment costing £200,000, David Wilson Homes managing director Paul Newman says the scheme will address a housing shortage in York across all levels of the chain.

He said: "We first tried to buy this site in 2006, when it first became available, but we were beaten to it by Grantside.

"When it became available again in 2012/13 we went for it as we knew how great a location it was.

"The location is going to drive a certain amount of interest, while what we have done with the scheme, and the design will take it up to a different level.

"There's only five active residential building sites of any decent size in and around York, and we've got four of them, with this, Derwenthorpe, the Tannery at Strensall and the Meadows at Huntington. We cover a large proportion of the market.

"This development offers something different. There may be criticisms the pricing is not achievable for a lot of people, but the people moving onto this site will have homes to sell, which will fit into the chain.

"Our most expensive property is a £750,000 detached house. Whoever buys that will no doubt have something smaller to sell, which frees up properties further down the chain.

"When you get more volume of supply in the market, no matter what end it is at, it creates a flow. It give's other people the opportunity to step up the ladder which frees something up further down the ladder. It's about helping the York economy.

"We've got interest in this site from all over the country, but predominantly its from York. There's a huge number of people looking to downsize into the apartments."

Having been based in York for 43 years, David Wilson Homes Yorkshire East has now built more than 20,000 homes, and says the last year was the second busiest in its history for house building, with this year on track to be the biggest financial year to date.

Success is being largely fuelled by the Chocolate Works development, which has seen David Wilson Homes attract is largest ever pre-sale data base, with more than 6,000 potential buyers registering an interest in the scheme.

Sales director Paul Hogan said: "We have never built anything like this before. We've been operating in York since 1972, so 43 years, and we've never had a site as unique as this.

"Being able to create something completely bespoke, and a one-off, all stems from the design of the site.

"This is one of the most prestigious locations in York, and the most exciting thing we have ever done taking into account the heritage of the site.

"The housing market in York is so under supplied at the moment. We are house builders, we want to build houses in good locations, and it's a struggle at the moment. York needs a lot more than it has.

"This is part of David Wilson Homes' legacy, and we are really excited about it. It means a lot to us to be company from York developing such an important site to the city."