ANGRY residents have welcomed tough council planning enforcement action against developers building a new village on the outskirts of York.

People living near the old Tenneco site development, in Rawcliffe, say their lives have been affected by Persimmon and Barratts not sticking to agreed working hours.

City of York Council's planning enforcement team has warned the developers they face prosecution unless they work within the hours, which are 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday.

Working is banned on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and bank holidays.

Cliff Carruthers, the council's head of development control, said: "They have been served with a breach of conditions notice. If there is any further breach, we can prosecute in the magistrates court."

One Manor Park Road resident, who asked not to be named, claimed work had gone on until at least 7pm some nights in the summer.

She said: "It has been a problem. The smell of the generator they used meant you couldn't sit in the garden at weekends."

An elderly neighbour, who also declined to be named, said: "It's about time something was done by the council, I'm glad they have taken this action."

David Walker, of nearby Manor Park Grove, said the main problem had been the use of heavy equipment during the early evenings.

"I am right behind them bringing enforcement in. They should stick to their hours," he said.

Ward councillor Mark Waudby said he and colleagues Irene Waudby and Richard Moore had received several complaints about the out-of-hours working.

He said: "Developers on any housing site must realise they have to stick to the regulations."

A Barratt spokesman said: "We are aware that a sub-contractor has been working outside the agreed hours and we apologise for any inconvenience which may have been caused."

A Persimmon spokeswoman said the company had not received any documentation from the council's planning enforcement team.

Updated: 10:53 Thursday, October 02, 2003