A WOMAN says she has been driven out of her home by the ‘horrendous’ disturbance caused by the construction of an access road into a massive York housing development.

Nicky Howard, who is suffering from cancer, said the project just off the A19 in Fulford - which will provide access into the 650-home Germany Beck site - had caused intolerable noise, vibration and dust.

She said the vibrations caused by pile driving had made her home in Main Street shake, causing cracks and plaster to fall off a ceiling.

Mrs Howard, 48, said the stress and hassle was the last thing she needed as she underwent cancer treatment, and she had moved out with her husband Roger to another property in a quieter part of Fulford.

She said she had previously run a successful bed and breakfast business at the house but closed that down when she moved out and tried instead to raise an income by letting out the property to holidaymakers.

However, she had had to stop doing so intermittently because of concerns about guests’ stays being disturbed by roadworks when they happened overnight.

“It’s been horrendous,” she said. “There were hundreds of lorries at one stage carrying boulders and hard core to create the foundations for the road, which caused dust to settle everywhere.

“I’ve had traffic lights outside my windows on the A19, and lorries with yellow flashing lights.

“Lorries have been parked up in Fordlands Road and manoeuvring at times when children are coming home from school.

“The piling was so bad that you could feel the floor shake and see a glass of water trembling.

“There have been lorry movements outside the times permitted by the council.”

She claimed she had never been warned about the potential impact of the construction programme by housebuilder Persimmon before the project started.

She said she received visits after she began to complain and monitoring equipment was installed to check the extent of the vibrations but it continued unabated.

Simon Usher, managing director of Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, told The Press it worked hard to minimise any inconvenience for local residents.

“However, the redevelopment work to the A19 access road will improve traffic management and significantly reduce the risk of road closures and flooding in the long term,” he said.

“Work is now coming to an end and we hope that residents will bear with us whilst the final phase of work using heavy machinery is completed.”