NEW houses that were built out of position in York can stay, city planning bosses have decided.

City of York Council has granted retrospective approval for the Hob Stone development in Windsor Garth, Acomb.

The decision ends months of limbo for people waiting to move into the homes, which are on the site of the former Our Lady's RC School.

Had the council refused permission, the homes may have had to be demolished.

Yorkshire Housing has agreed to a £38,024 payment under section 106 legislation, which covers developers' contributions to offset their projects. The sum will go towards highways work, and the provision of affordable housing and open space elsewhere.

Yorkshire Housing discovered when work was almost complete that some of the 55 homes had been built out of position, by 10 to 80 centimetres (four to 32 inches) and that the road lay-out differed from the approved plan, posing potential problems for bin lorries.

The house positioning was worst in the south-east corner of the site, where homes were nearer the Hob Moor boundary than intended, and Yorkshire Housing must also now create a landscaped strip between the development and the Moor.

York Press:

Council planning officer Alison Stockdale said in a written report: "The proposed changes to the previously approved scheme are not considered to have any impact on the character of Hob Moor or the local nature reserve. Residential amenity for future residents is not considered to be compromised and the highways layout is acceptable."

Natalie Langan and Alex Altham had been due to move into one of the homes on June 30, but have now been given a handover date of November 21.

Miss Langan said: "We had paid to get out of our tenancy at short notice, but then had to find somewhere else at short notice. All they [Yorkshire Housing] offered is £500 compensation but that does not cover everything.

"We were delayed and delayed - they said maybe the end of August, then October and now they've pushed it back even further."

A Yorkshire Housing spokesperson said: “We’re glad that Hob Stone has received planning permission so we can arrange dates for our customers to move in.

"We appreciate there have been significant delays but are pleased to be delivering much-needed family homes when many families in York are struggling to find somewhere suitable to live.

“We’ve been doing as much as possible to keep all our buyers, including Natalie Langan and Alex Altham, as up-to-date as possible so they can decide how they want to proceed.

"We’ve been giving them weekly updates and also offered  a payment as a goodwill gesture. We’ve also said we’ll cover costs if buyers wish to withdraw because of the delays.”