After all the dire warnings about government intervention if a new York Local Plan wasn’t adopted in 2017, the Council is set to delay publication for another 6 months.

They claim the delay is due to new sites becoming available for development. Essentially these are the MOD sites on Fulford Road and at Strensall.  Potentially these sites could accommodate around 1695 homes and would reduce the pressure to build on greenbelt land.

A meeting on 5^th December 2016 will receive an update report

Even after any amendments are incorporated into the plan, further consultation will be necessary while transport, delivery and sustainability  reports will have to be prepared.

Strangely the report fails to assess what central governments reaction to the increased timescales might be. Previously the City has been threatened with an “imposed” plan by London. That threat now seems to have disappeared.

In the meantime, some developers are likely to spot the main chance and submit planning applications for individual sites. The Council will be able to give little weight to its emerging Local Plan when fending off unsuitable proposals.

It could also be faced with difficult decisions on land that it owns. This would include the Lowfields school site; the development of the playing fields there having attracted objections during the consultation on the Local Plan which took place during the summer. These objections have not yet been considered although a report is expected next week on the early development of the land.

Any delay will also add to the costs faced by taxpayers who will continue to fund the salaries of those temporary bureaucrats who should by now have moved on.

All in all then an unsatisfactory situation with many householders in the City living in homes blighted by uncertainties.

The York Council needs to up its game and set more testing deadlines for the completion of this process.