YORK'S new Conservative led council has halted plans to build council homes on a site in the city's Westfield ward.

The Tory and Lib Dem coalition this week withdrew a scheme for eight new flats on the site of former garages in Newbury Avenue from a council house building programme.

The decision was taken at the first Executive meeting since the election in May, after the new Tory member for planning David Carr said it had provoked an outcry from local residents.

But opposition councillors immediately accused the council of backing away from the affordable housing crisis in York.

Former Labour council leader Cllr Dafydd Williams said: "Building affordable housing is not going to be easy anywhere and we need to take up as many opportunities as we possible can.

"If that site were to be developed it would still need to go through all the normal consultation proceedings and planning applications processes. Simply having it on the list does not mean it wouldn't have to go through those processes.

"Removing it from the list is a backward step."

He also praised his former council colleague Tracey Simpson-Laing for her work getting more council homes built in the city during her time on the authority, and challenged the Lib Dem councillors on the Executive to stand up against national Government policy to sell off housing association homes owned social housing.

Cllr Carr said Newbury Avenue would be removed only temporarily to give the council chance for further consultation with people nearby.

He said: "I would hope that it is not a permanent removal, but it really depends on local residents' views, local ward councillor views.

"It is a very difficult site to develop and it may be that we come forward with the same scheme, a different scheme, or no scheme but I think it's very hard to anticipate how those discussions will proceed."

The same meeting also saw the Executive agree to build up to 24 new council flats on Ordnance Lane, alongside a replacement homeless hostel. A full meeting of the council will now be asked to approve a £3 million deal to fund the scheme.