Plans for new town “wholly inappropriate” say housebuilders

Plans for a new settlement south of York have received a major blow after housebuilders and planning experts said the scheme was “wholly inappropriate” and the location was “unsustainable”.

 The ‘Whinthorpe’ development is planned for Green Belt land at Holme Hill, alongside the A64 to the south of Heslington. The original proposals had space for 5,500 houses – making the planned settlement bigger than Easingwold or Dunnington. However, housebuilders such as the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust and Linden Homes along with expert planning consultants have criticised the proposals in consultation papers recently published by Labour run York Council.

The consultation responses include:

  •  Consultants for the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust said “We consider that the site is wholly inappropriate for development in landscape and green belt terms. Indeed, in our view, it is impossible to identify a site or area in the countryside surrounding York where development would have a worse impact on the character or setting of the historic city”.
  •  The same consultants raised concerns over the lack of local infrastructure and said that pressure on schools meant there was the danger that “small children will need to be decanted to distant schools”.
  •  ID Planning said the site was in “an unsustainable location” and could become a commuter town for Leeds which “would not be assisting in the economic growth of the city (York)”. They said there was “no evidence this site has been tested or is viable” and that public transport options were “unknown”.
  •  Henry Boot Developments said “the assumed build out rates are simply too high and are unsustainable/undeliverable”.

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