Most residents will be pleased that John Lewis have made a planning application to open a store near the new Monks Cross stadium. The store will sell clothes, home and electronics goods.
Negotiations with the company have been ongoing for over 2 years.
The second of the large retail units being provided by local developer Oakgate will be occupied by Marks and Spencer who announced some time ago that they would not be extending the lease on their Coppergate home furnishing store.
The alternative to John Lewis – a move for the Sainsbury’s supermarket – would have presented the Councils planners with a major problem as the released store space would have already had permission to sell goods which were in direct competition with the City Centre.
The arrival of a new high quality retailer in John Lewis means that the City will be able to attract shoppers who otherwise might have headed for Sheffield and Newcastle.
The Oakgate proposal represents the culmination of 5 years work aimed at providing a new home for the City’s football and rugby league clubs. It is the only viable option although perhaps inevitably vested interests will seek to muddy the water. The “alternative” stadium plan announced a few weeks ago is a “spoiler” relying as it does on building on green belt land and interfering with a scheduled ancient monument (a roman fort).
John Lewis had previously indicated an interest in occupying space at Coppergate 2 – a development which ultimately failed to get planning permission. The new application is an opportunity that the City should grab quickly.
It is a shame that some people associated with the York Civic Trust should choose to publicly attack the proposals. Their business is conservation and they will lose friends quickly if they use the media to lecture important stakeholders on their business plans.
There are opportunities to improve the City centre and make it even more attractive to visitors and shoppers. Major extensions of pedestrian friendly streets are possible and off peak (10:00am – 4:00pm) shoppers car parking discounts are possible using the new generation of smart card payment options. But that requires the council to have a City Centre Action Plan in place and unfortunately they continue to dither on their strategy.

North Yorkshire mobile safety camera routes between 2 November and 8 November 2011
North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety camera pilot has recorded 4,742 speeding offences during the first three months of operation. The six-month pilot was launched on 1 July 2011, with the intention of improving road safety across North Yorkshire and the City of York. This week the van is likely to be in Green Lane.
North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between 2 November 2011 and 8 November 2011.
A64 Malton by-pass Malton east and westbound
A64 Seamer by-pass, Scarborough
A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough
A1039 Filey Road at Flixton
Stoney Haggs Road, Scarborough southbound towards Seamer
A629, Low Bradley
A65, Settle By-Pass
A62, westbound, Crosshills
A629, Skipton by-pass
A59, Beamsley Hill
A171 Jugger Howe opposite Springhill Farm
B1460 Castle Road, Whitby
A169 Whitby to Pickering Road near to Goathland
A169 Whitby to Pickering Road at High Horcum
A170 Scarborough to Thirsk Road at Snainton
A171 Mayfield Road, Whitby
B1249 Staxton Wold, Staxton, Scarborough
B1249 Foxholes to county boundary
A1039 Filey Road at Flixton
A165 Reighton by-pass
A64 Malton by-pass Malton east and westbound
A64 between Whitwell Hill and Barton Hill
A64 between Barton-le-Willows and Jinnah
Northfield Farm, Cobcroft lane, Cridling Stubbs
Brayton Lane, Brayton, Selby
Barff Lane, Brayton, Selby
B1257 Newgate Bank, Hawnby
A19 Crathorne
A170 Scawton Moor
Station Road, Thirsk
B6271 Great Langton
B1264 Low Worsall
Guisbrough Road, Great Ayton
B1257 Great Broughton
Northfield Farm, Cobcroft Lane, Cridling Stubbs
Skipwith Road, Escrick
A63 Hemingbrough
Church Lane, Wheldrake
Northallerton Road, Brompton,
Station Road, Thirsk,
B6271, Great Langton,
A61, Carlton Road, Carlton Miniott
A6108, North Stainley
A64 Eastbound carriageway Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
A64 Westbound Carriageway, Bowbridge Farm, Tadcaster
Millfield Lane, Poppleton, York
Beckfield Lane, York
Green Lane, Acomb, York
The mobile safety cameras will be in operation at the above sites at various times during the dates stated. Cameras will not be in use on the above routes all day, every day. The above locations were accurate when this news release was produced.