A DEVELOPER has agreed to buy back three £150,000 executive homes and carry out remedial work on others after they were hit by subsidence problems.

Three homes on Hartlepool's Eden Park estate have been bought back by York builders Shepherd Homes.

The Northern Echo understands that at least 14 other houses have suffered crumbling brickwork, damaged pathways and slanting floors.

The reasons for the structural damage to the properties on Barley Close and Hayfield Drive have not been revealed to the estate's residents.

Homes elsewhere on the two-year-old central Hartlepool estate have recently been sold for nearly £300,000, double the original £150,000 asking price. However, houses in the affected Barley Close and Hayfield Drive have been taken off the market.

The previous owners of the three houses bought by Shepherd Homes six months ago could not be contacted yesterday.

Others on the street did not wish to be named as they have received legal advice that they say they could be held responsible for lowering the price of the homes.

One man, whose conservatory is close to collapse and whose floor is subsiding, said: "The whole town knows about this estate and we've been told by estate agents that no one will come here. This site and these homes are blighted and we are trapped."

A spokesman for Shepherd Homes confirmed yesterday that the company had bought back three properties and planned a full package of measures to repair other homes and solve structural problems.

She said: "After a long and complex period of testing, Shepherd Homes has agreed this week a full package of remedial measures, and this has been in conjunction with all our consultants and specialist contractors. A programme of works is being planned and Shepherd Homes will be advising residents about how this will be implemented.

"The measures we propose will put right any problems across the site and protect the long-term value of the homes at Eden Park."