“Good night” Knights?…. as St. John’s College submits multi million pound sports ground plan for Haxby Road

York St. John’s College has submitted a planning application which would see the construction of a sports hall with associated changing, teaching and social facilities following demolition of the pavilion at the Mille Crux Sport Park.

Master plan for Haxby Road sports centre

The sports hall will be the equivalent in size to 5 badminton courts and will incorporate changing rooms, a “strength and conditioning” suit, flexible teaching space and catering facilities.

The proposal is the third part of the development of the sports park on the 24 hectare site on Haxby Road

It was granted planning permission 2 years ago

Full details of the current application can be found by clicking here

Ironically both the planning applications make mention of the York Knights RFL side saying that they are users of the facility.

There were indeed high hopes of a link up in 2013 as part of the Community Stadium deal but that relationship seems to have gone sour.

The York Council is apparently refusing to talk to the Knights owner following an acrimonious legal wrangle which ended a couple of months ago.

The Knights in turn are saying that they want a guarantee of being able to play games at Bootham Crescent until the new Community Stadium is completed.

Given that the Community Stadium project is already 2 years behind the schedule agreed in 2010 that may not be an unreasonable request.

It is about time that both sides sat down and talked through a solution.

York Local Plan hits political buffers

Any hope, that York’s Local Plan might be agreed for submission to an “examination in public” before the Council elections are due to take place in May seem to have disappeared today.

Labour Councillors refused at a meeting today to remove Cllr Watt – who now sits as an Independent – from the Local Plan Working Group.

They chose to take that line after Watt agreed to back their “Big City” house building plans.

For the next couple of weeks at least, Cllr Watt would be able to attend working group meetings provided he continues to toe the Labour Party line.

The Conservatives will have only one seat on the working group (although, under proportional representation, they are legally entitled to two)

The next Local Plan meeting is not scheduled to take place until 29^th January.

Little divine inspiration or common sense on show at today’s meeting. click to access

It is to be hoped that the political groups find an accommodation before the “Urgency” committee next meets on 19^th January.

Today’s ill tempered meeting will be best remembered for tit for tat accusations about individual Councillors “misbehaviour”. The allegations should more properly have been raised at the specialist “standards committee”.

The promise of the new Labour Leader, to encourage debate about issues rather than personalities, seems to have fallen flat on its face. The “part time” Labour Leader (Williams) was noticeable by his absence from today’s meeting.

York Tory Councillor to be sacked over Local Plan comments

The Conservative Councillor Joe Watt, who last week sided with Labour plans to build on York’s Green Belt, is to be sacked from his planning role.

He will be replaced on the Local Plan Working Group by fellow Conservative Paul Healey. The proposal is revealed in papers published late on Christmas Eve.

Cllr Watt outraged opinion in his Shelton/Rawcliffe ward by advocating a plan which could involve building 4000 houses on land adjacent to the A1237 at Clifton Moor.

Labour are proposing to build 15,000 additional homes in the York area in total over the next 15 years. Council figures confirm that the growth in the indigenous population will only be 6200 during the same period.

Liberal Democrat Councillors have argued for a more cautious economic growth strategy with between 600 and 650 extra homes being provided each year on brownfield (previously developed) land in the City.

Latest Planning applications – Community Stadium, Boyes, British Sugar

Quick links to full detailed applications

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Acomb and Westfield wards.

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference

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Acomb

Location: British Sugar Corporation Ltd Plantation Drive York YO26 6XF

British Sugar site

Proposal: Outline application for the development of the site comprising up to 1,100 residential units, community uses (D1/D2) and new public open space with details of access (to include new access points at Millfield Lane and Boroughbridge Road and a new link road, crossing the Former Manor School Site) and demolition of the Former Manor School buildings

Ref No: 14/02789/OUTM

Applicant: British Sugar Contact: Mr Neil Jones Consultation Expiry Date: 14 January 2015 Case Officer: Jonathan Kenyon Expected Decision Level: COMP

———————-

Location: British Sugar Corporation Ltd Plantation Drive York YO26 6XF

Proposal: Construction of development platform, engineering works and remediation and reclamation of site

Ref No: 14/02798/FULM

Applicant: British Sugar Contact: Mr Neil Jones Consultation Expiry Date: 14 January 2015 Case Officer: Jonathan Kenyon Expected Decision Level: COMP

——————-

Westfield

Acomb Alive representqaives Adndrew Waller and Sue Hunter outside the Front Street shop which will be converted for use by Boyes

Acomb Alive representatives Cllr Andrew Waller and Sue Hunter outside the Front Street shop which will be converted for use by Boyes

Location: 11 Front Street York YO24 3BW

Proposal: Internal and external alterations to facilitate the conversion of 4no. retail units to 1no. retail unit

Ref No: 14/02840/FUL

Applicant: W Boyes & Co Ltd Contact R Peter Belt Consultation Expiry Date 12 January 2015 Case Officer: Victoria Bell Expected Decision Level DEL

———————

Community Stadium

In addition the planning application for the new Community Stadium at Huntington has also now been published

Location: Huntington Stadium Jockey Lane Huntington York YO32 9JS

Proposal: Erection of 8,000 seat Community Stadium, leisure centre, multi-screen cinema, retail units, outdoor football pitches, community facilities and other ancillary uses, together with associated vehicular access, car parking, public realm, and hard and soft landscaping following demolition of existing structures

Ref No: 14/02933/FULM

Applicant: Wrenbridge Sport York Limited And GLL Contact Mr Daniel Brown Consultation Expiry Date 21 January 2015 Case Officer: Kevin O’Connell Expected Decision Level COMP

Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning on line web site. http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received.

Car park signage criticised

St. Leonards Place car park

Some motorists have been confused by the signing at the entrance to the – now privately run – car park on St Leonards Place. Several have thought that the entrance had been moved as part of the Exhibition Square refurbishment, although this isn’t the case.

For a Conservation Area the signs are borderline intrusive anyway.

Users of the car park find that they are expected to pay up to £12 to park. Unfortunately the operators – a Leeds based company – allow only cash payments for tickets.

Parking machines at St. Leonards Place car park. click to enlarge

It is several years since the Council made credit card and “pay by phone” options available at its central car parks.

There is also no parking available for those with disabled badges although it is the most central facility for those accessing most of the shops in the city centre.

This is a good location for cycle parking facilities and it would have been worth the Council continuing to operate the car park facilities until the apparently endless saga over the future of the adjacent office block is finally settled.

There is no sign of work commencing on site despite the council announcing a development scheme almost 3 years ago.

The Council is also remaining tight lipped about the planned hotel at the Barbican site which is now 4 years behind schedule.

Muddle, confusion, division and delay – York’s Local Plan

Yesterday’s York Council working group meeting should have sorted out a way forward which would have led to majority support for a new Local Plan for the City.

Instead a maverick Tory Councillor, Joe Watt, voted against his own parties policies when he sided with the “Big City” proposals which Labour have been touting around for the last 3 years. The high growth proposals were rejected at the October Council meeting having attracted a record number of objections from residents (over 15,000).

The latest proposals envisage an average of 926 additional homes being built in the City each year leading to a total build of 14,816 by 2030. The character and setting of the City would be changed for ever.

The majority of the houses would be built on Green Belt land and would be occupied by inward migrants.

Existing York Green Belt boundaries. click to enlarge

On average the City has seen – over the last 15 years – just over 600 homes built each year.

Lack of planning permissions and identified development sites has rarely, if ever, been a problem during that period.

Over 80% of new homes have been provided on previously developed (brownfield) sites during the last 2 years.

The Council has been totally opaque in its dealings over the Local Plan. Even now Freedom of Information requests are subject to ongoing delays.

The York Council has also still to come up with a workable governance system which will see it through to the “all out” local elections in May.

We doubt that many existing Councillors will be re-elected if they don’t step up to the plate and respect the wishes of York residents. Cllr Watt, in particular, is leaving an unwelcome legacy with 4000 new homes now likely to be built on Green Belt land on the doorsteps of Skelton and Clifton Moor electors.

The Local Plan is the biggest remaining issue for the present Council to sort out.

It needs to find a consensus approach and quickly.

British Sugar site housing plans finally submitted

British Sugar site

The media are reporting that plans to build 1100 homes on the former British Sugar site have been submitted to the York Council.

The plans have not yet been published on the Councils web site.

The site has been available for development for about 5 years with the recession mainly to blame for the slow progress.

Residents will be looking with particular interest to see how the additional traffic generated by the development will be handled. It appears that access will be concentrated on Millfield Lane.

If the plans are approved it will reduce demands to build on Green belt sites around the City

Brief history

2011 Plan stalls
2013 Methane risk
2013 Public exhibition
2013 “large” supermarket claim found to be bogus

Damage being caused by Hob Moor building works

Residents have raised concerns about damage to Hob Moor being caused by building works on the former Our Lady’s school site.

Parts of the moor have become waterlogged while local roads and footpaths have been damaged by access traffic.

Several sets of speed humps are now dangerous for cyclists.

Parking on the access road to the site is not possible forcing vehicles onto local residential roads. In turn this has made access for domestic delivery vehicles awkward.

The York council has yet to confirm that roads and footpaths will be included in the forthcoming years resurfacing programme. In the meantime emergency repairs are required.

Development site next to Hob Moor

Parts of Hob Moor now waterlogged and inaccessible

Footpaths and roads dangerous following traffic and utility damage

Local Plan meeting agenda published

The Council has published a further report on the number of new homes that it believes should be built in the City over the next 20 years.

The report fails completely to offer any possibility of reaching a consensus, driven, as it is, by the now discredited “Big City” strategy devised by the last Labour administration.

Council officials need to get back to basics. History is fact and an average of around 600 additional homes is what has been produced in the City over the last few decades.

Births, deaths and house building click to enlarge

In the last two years the housing waiting list in the City has fallen from a peak of 4692 to 1344. That is the backlog in demand that needs to be accommodated and, with nearly 5000 outstanding planning permissions available in the city, volume requirements (but not necessary affordability) can be addressed.

Natural population growth (births minus deaths) have averaged around 1000 a year producing an internal demand for less than 500 additional homes each year.

As was explained a coupe of days ago, there are a vast range of opinions on what may happen over the next two decades.

It is however highly unlikely that we will see high levels of sustained economic growth over the longer term. There will be peaks and troughs

Hence a figure of between 600 and 650 additional homes per year – on average – is a reasonable and justifiable aspiration.

The sooner York Council officials recognise this and get on with planning on that basis the sooner York’s Local Plan can achieve widespread support.

Terry’s – planning recommendation published

Council officials are recommending that approval be given to the erection of 79 houses and 161 apartments on the former Terry’s site on Bishopthorpe Road.

A decision will be taken at a Planning Committee meeting scheduled to take place on 18^th December.

The proposal from David Wilson Homes is likely to be subject to a Section 106 agreement which will require the provision of off site public pen space, school places and affordable housing.

The same meeting will be recommended to refuse planning permission for a 40 pitch touring caravan site on Malton Road.

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