The mid-terraced house in Hoxton Road collapsed in October while builders were digging foundations for a new block of flats on the former Stuart’s Foods site.

Amazingly, no-one was injured in the collapse which also led to the demolition of a neighbouring property after large cracks appeared in its walls.

The property’s future remained unclear until this week when Gary Hill, of Hill Douglas Developments, confirmed an acceptable plan had been passed and he hoped to start work within the next two weeks.

He said: “There are just a few little bits to be finalised. We will put hoarding up around the houses and then we shall start. Everything has got to be finalised in all the fine detail. It has taken a long time to sort it out.”

Mr Hill added that it had taken six months to arrive at an acceptable plan because all parties involved had to be in agreement. He said: “The insurers, solicitors and a new team of structural engineers are all working together.”

He said it was most important to take the time to make sure the plans were right rather than to rush them through.

Homeowner Ray Cappleman was in the dining room at the time of the collapse but was unscathed.

His former partner Sue Jabbi, who has been living in Trafalgar Square since then, said she was told by her solicitor that the plan for rebuilding the two properties had finally been accepted.

She said: “They’ve been in touch and should be starting any time. A lot of it’s been to do with the plans. An engineer had to look at the plans for us and by the time he’d looked at them he wasn’t happy with them. There were lots of faults and they were looked at two or three times.”

Mrs Jabbi added that it was important the plans were right and she could see why there had been such a delay but she was not happy that it had taken so long.

She said: “I think we will have trouble selling it because of all the bad publicity.

“I will be glad to see the back of it because it has caused us so much trouble.

“But despite that I do have a lot of happy memories there – it’s where I brought my kids up.”