Action taken in Foxwood and Chapelfields

The style access to the Public Right of Way across Acomb Moor has become unstable. We've asked for it to be repaired.

The stile access to the Public Right of Way across Acomb Moor has become unstable. We’ve asked for it to be repaired.

Recent wet/sunny weather has accelerated the growth of hedges in the area. These in Westfield Place are now impeding a right of way.

We’ve asked for urgent attention to the trees in Burgess Walk following more branches falling into gardens and onto the public footpath. This looks to be a developing public safety issue. It was raised at the Foxwood Residents Association meeting 6 weeks ago. Cllr. Andrew Waller is following the issue up

We’ve asked for detritus to be cleared from around the traffic island build outs in Chapelfields

We've again asked for the Grange Lane Chapelfields Road garage snicket to be cleared of detgritus

We’ve again asked for the Grange Lane/Chapelfields Road garage snicket to be cleared of detritus

Marston Avenue garage area has still not been cleaned up and resurfaced. We’ve registered a formal complaint

We’re surprised that the gutters in Hammerton Close weren’t cleaned when we reported them 3 months ago. We’ve asked for management action

Seems the weed growth on footpaths in Walton Place hasn’t received attention yet. We’ve asked for the weedkilling team to return

We use https://www.fixmystreet.com/ to report issues

York Green Belt showdown meeting date set for 18th September

The meeting to discuss possible changes to Labours highly controversial Local Plan proposals will take place on Thursday 18th September at 5.30pm at West Offices.

View of Minster from Acomb Moor click to enlarge

This will be the first opportunity that residents will have to personally confront the Labour Councillors who are responsible for the plan which could see 22,000 additional homes built in the City – mostly on land currently defined as “Green Belt”

The Labour plan would see the city increase in size by 25% over the next 15 years with potentially dramatic effects on transport, health, education and other public services in the City.

The papers for the meeting will be published on 10^th September on the Councils web site.

Any approved changes – and there will have to be some as new brownfield sites for over 1600 homes have been identified since the draft plan was published in April 2013 – will apparently be reported to a “Cabinet” meeting on 25^th September.

Given that there were over 15,000 objections to the Councils plan, giving residents only 8 days to read and analyse the official response is insulting to residents.

Amongst the original plans were proposals to build on Acomb Moor (opposite Foresters Walk) and land opposite Woodthorpe/Acomb Park on Moor Lane.

Proposals to build a “Showman’s Yard” on land between Wetherby Road and Knapton were subsequently withdrawn by the land owners, although the Councils enthusiasm for the scheme means that the Green Belt designation of the site is still under threat.

Labour are hoping to rush their plans through before they lose power in next years local Council elections. However a protracted Public Inquiry (Examination in Public) now seems inevitable.

Residents who wish to speak at either of the meetings (18^th and/or 25^th) must register to do so at least a day before the meeting.

York Council publishes Local Plan objections

Largest ever response by residents and businesses

The scale of the opposition, to Labours plan to increase the size of the City by 25% over the next 15 years, is now apparent as all the objections registered have been published on the Councils web site.

View of Minster from Acomb Moor click to enlarge

It would take someone weeks to read through even the summaries which have been provided.

These include one on Acomb Moor Strangely the only identified support for developing the moor comes from the York Diocesan Board of Finance . Quite why they would ant to get involved in such a political argument is difficult to understand. However their support is more than offset by dozens of objections.

In addition to individual responses 21 petitions were submitted by residents.

Some commentary has been provided by officials but it remains unclear when Councillors will get the opportunity to debate the issues raised and, indeed when objectors will get the chance to make representations in person prior to the next draft being published.

The draft plan has already been undermined by the revelation a few days ago that, over the last 18 months, most planning permissions in the City have been granted on brownfield sites not identified for housing development in the Draft Local Plan published last year.

Housing building sites – more information released on threats to green field sites

Wetherby Road site. Click to enlarge

The York Council has released more details of the assessments that it has made of requests by landowners for particular sites to be considered for development.

They include assessments for some sites, which were rejected, and are not being considered at its meetings on the 17^th April and 23^rd April 2014

They are relevant though in so far as they provide an indication of the landowner’s development aspirations. They are likely to reappear at the Public Inquiry later in the year when owners will try to have additional development land added to the Plan.

Lowfields school playing fields threat click to enlarge

39 sites, including one off Askham Lane, were rejected because they failed to respect the natural environment; two were rejected because they were on open space, while 21 had poor transport links and/or access to services

The proposals included the land (site ref 220) on Wetherby Road – near Knapton – originally suggested as a “Showman’s Yard” site. Now the owners want to build housing there. Worryingly the reason given by the Council officials for opposing development is the “lack of public transport”. No mention is made of its green belt credentials.

26 sites failed a “technical evaluation”. These included land to the west of Chapelfields (ref 778) which was rejected on grounds of landscape value and potential archaeology.

Land near Chapelfields under threat of development. click to enlarge

There is a similar list of sites rejected for Employment/Retail use.

Askham Bryan freight depot click to enlarge

Council officials have reviewed development boundaries at several sites put forward last year.

Notably a plan by the Council itself to build on the playing fields of Lowfields School (as well as on the previously developed footprint of the school buildings) has been rejected.

Officials point out that the field enjoys a lot of informal recreational use.

They do, however, rather ominously claim that the playing fields may in future be “taken over” by a private sports club!

Officials also rule out the development of even more of the open space between Woodthorpe, Foxwood, Chapelfields and the ring roads (site 791) and the rest of Acomb Moor (site 792) although the partial development of the moor still remains part of the draft Plan.

Approved proposals include a “freight transhipment” and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) site on land between the A1237 and Askham Bryan. Although currently well screened by trees this is an elevated site which would be visible from several miles.

Acomb Moor tree cut down – no consultation

It appears that the York Council ordered one of the trees on Foxwood Lane – adjacent to Acomb Moor – to be cut down.

They claim it was diseased.

There was no consultation with residents or local Councillors.

Suspicions were raised that the felling was connected with the proposals contained in the Councils new draft Local Plan which could see Acomb Moor built on.

NB Meanwhile the Council has finally started to publish the objections made to Labour’s Local Plan.

They are unsorted and largely impenetrable in their present form

Local Plan: 14,000 objections to city wide consultation

Thousands of residents and businesses along with other organisations have responded to City of York Council‘s extensive city wide consultation which will help shape the development of York’s future Local Plan.

The figures and initial feedback are outlined in a report to be taken to the Local Plan Working Group on Monday 4 November, available to view click here

The papers list petitions received and these include objections to the development of Acomb Moor as well as opposition to development of land between Wetherby Road and Knapton.

Statutory bodies have criticised the proposal to increase the size of the City with English Heritage saying that they would harm the special character of York while Leeds University says that the growth figures are wrong.

The North Yorkshire County Council is critical, while the Highways Agency records concerns about the impact the plan would have on transport systems.

However most of the individual objections are still being analyzed by Council officials.

Even the Council Leadership have acknowledged that the number of objections are the largest ever received in response to a Council proposal.