RESIDENTS living near York’s Hungate development claim the work is causing unacceptable disruption to their lives.

Dr Diane Lister and Chris Pickering, who both live in Rowntree Wharf, which overlooks phase two of the redevelopment project, say work has taken place outside permitted hours and floodlighting has been left on all night, keeping them awake.

They have also complained that City of York Council is failing to enforce planning conditions imposed when it approved the scheme.

Dr Lister also claimed that work by Lend Lease went on for several months before an approved construction environmental management plan (CEMP) was in place, breaching a planning condition saying a CEMP should be approved in writing by the authority prior to any work commencing on site.

Jonathan Carr, head of development services and regeneration at the council, said Hungate was a major development site, which would inevitably have some impact during construction and the enforcement team and environmental protection unit had closely monitored works since before complaints were received.

He said they had made more than 13 visits to the site, many in response to alleged breaches of control and issues with lighting but there had been no evidence of a persistent breach and the developer had been willing to address any issues arising.

“This was the case prior to the Construction Management Plan being formally agreed. The council must adopt a reasonable and proportionate approach to enforcement and has to-date found no basis to pursue formal action.”

A Lend Lease spokesman confirmed that a fault in a time-clock controlling the main site lighting meant floodlights on the site were left on overnight on February 2. “This fault was rectified the following morning and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused local residents,” he said.

He said the initial draft CEMP was submitted in advance of works starting and was signed off in December, with Lend Lease receiving clearance from the council to commence initial works while the final version was being approved.

He also said that in order to work safely, it might be necessary on occasion to work out of hours and on one occasion, due to an “extreme circumstance,” out of hours work had occurred.

He added: “As an experienced and responsible contractor in the UK, Lend Lease takes complaints very seriously and we will always deal with them in a timely and appropriate manner.

“Since we started on site at Hungate, we have worked very closely with the local council, including the enforcement team. As noted by the council, no enforcement notices have been placed on the site since work started.”