A number of new build homes in West Cumbria are being fixed after not meeting requirements.
Empty properties in part of Gleeson Homes’ Ivy Mills housing development, in Hensingham, are currently undergoing remedial work to meet National House Building Council standards.
The new builds have had bricks removed from the front corners of the properties, revealing breezeblocks underneath.
Fences and tarpaulin have been erected around at least four properties on the site that covers them from the roadside.
It sparked speculation about what was happening at the site.
Concerns were raised about the properties having subsidence, but the housebuilder said this was not the case.
A Gleeson Homes spokesman said: “There is no subsidence affecting the properties at Ivy Mills, and no underpinning work is required or taking place.
“The work currently being undertaken relates to technical remedial activity on a number of homes in line with NHBC requirements.
“This is a technical compliance matter and not linked to any structural defect or ground instability.”
Gleeson Homes declined to reveal how many homes were affected.
The housebuilder was granted planning permission to build the first 26 homes of the Ivy Mills housing development in 2021.
Work on the first phase of the site began in 2022 and was completed in 2023.
Planning permission to build a further 63 homes on the site was granted in 2024.
Work began that summer and was expected to be completed with homes ready for sale in 2025.
The estate is on the former Romar Innovate site. The factory was demolished and the site cleared in 2017.
The National House Building Council is the benchmark for quality in the UK.
It provides warranties and insurance for new-build homes.
Although they are not legislation, its standards provide technical guidance about how new homes should be designed and built.
