A CAMPAIGNER has complained to the Charities Commission about the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust’s decision to start work on two prototype homes for York’s Derwenthorpe scheme.

Mark Warters claims that the two environmentally-friendly homes being built at the end of Temple Avenue are part of the 540-home model village project, and should therefore be halted until a legal wrangle involving the European Commission is settled.

His claims came as a resident living at the end of Temple Avenue, Bob Peel, criticised the inconvenience and noise he has been facing since work started on preparing the site for the new homes.

He said a trench had been dug outside his home, completely blocking access for vehicles. Huge lorries had also been coming every day and parking outside his home.“It’s chaos,” he claimed.

Trust project manager Paul Marshall said: “We will liaise closely with Mr Peel to resolve the issues he has raised. If residents have any queries in future they should contact JRHT on 01904 750404.”

It was revealed recently that the European probe into a land deal between City of York Council and the trust could end up going to the European Court of Justice. The Trust has delayed starting work on the model village until that issue has been resolved.

Mr Warters says that when a planning application for the prototypes was considered by York planners, council documents clearly referred to the site as being “within the Derwenthorpe development site.”

The long-standing opponent of Derwenthorpe, who is now chairman of Osbaldwick Parish Council, has asked the Charities Commission to investigate and confirm whether it believed the work should be halted until the outcome of the European investigation is known. He claimed the trust risked exacerbating its losses by putting money into a development which it might not be able to complete.

But the Trust’s executive director John Hocking insisted that the prototypes were separate from the proposed development at Derwenthorpe.“The site has gone through the normal planning process and we are building under licence on council owned land,” he said.

“Lessons learned from the development will inform any future developments that we undertake, at Derwenthorpe or elsewhere, both in terms of new build and improvements to existing homes.”