New figures provided by the York Council cast further doubts on the soundness of the Labour Local Plan for the City.
The Council recently revealed a new raft of sites which it is considering for housing development. Following an intervention from LibDem Councillors the Labour Leadership was forced to agree to publish the numbers of homes that it hopes to fit on each site.
That may come as little comfort to residents.
Estimates of the capacity of some sites included in the original Plan – published 12 months ago – proved to be very wide of the mark with sites like Our Lady’s in Windsor Garth slated to accommodate 60% more homes that indicated in the original plan.
Now the Council has been asked to respond to criticisms that it failed to identify nearly 1000 sites for homes which were subsequently granted planning permission between 1st October 2012 (the original plan base date) and 1st April 2014.
1793 additional homes were given the “go ahead” by the Planning Committee during that 19 month period.
As previously reported, 959 of these were on (mainly brownfield) sites of over 0.2 htr which should have been separately identified in the draft Plan …….but weren’t.
Permission for 144 homes was given through the conversion of existing commercial buildings like Hilary House.
Stonebow House missing
There is no mention in the Councils plans for buildings like Stonebow House or the Ryedale House building in Piccadilly.
Objectors fundament criticism remains that Labour’s plans for 22,000 additional homes is not only unnecessary (there are only 2000 people on the housing waiting list in the City) but they are also unsustainable.
Expanding the City in size by 25% in just 15 years would have disastrous consequences for local infrastructure.
Transport systems would simply be unable to cope
NB. The high levels of planning permissions granted in recent months is the equivalent of a supply of over 1100 homes per annum.
That is markedly higher than the 575 agreed by the then LibDem led Council as necessary in its March 2011 Local Plan.