Local paper the Cambridge Independent first revealed the problems on the Darwin Green site where Barratt David Wilson Homes Cambridgeshire is building a new community of nearly 1,600 homes.

A spokesperson for Barratt David Wilson Homes Cambridgeshire said “We have an extensive quality assurance process and during inspections we found that a small number of unoccupied properties at our Darwin Green development did not meet our usual high standards.

“Unfortunately the most effective course of action at this stage is to demolish the properties and rebuild them. We have apologised to the customers affected and understand their frustrations, but we are doing all that we can to lessen the impact of this for them.

“We have already written to all residents on Phase One of the development to reassure them that this was an isolated issue with the designs of a new section of the development under construction.

“In addition, over the past fortnight an expert independent engineering firm has reviewed the designs of the existing properties and we can offer further reassurance to existing residents that their homes are not affected.

“We are now focused on ensuring that the demolition of the properties causes as little disruption as possible for existing residents.”