Julian Slam’s Council’s Development Proposals in Comprehensive Response to Local Plan Consultation
July 18, 2014
Julian has hit out at the City of York Council in his comprehensive 36-page response to the Local Plan Further Sites consultation.
In his submission, Julian said:
“I am not, nor have I ever been, opposed to sustainable development in appropriate locations. I have always said that, as York is a very special historic cathedral City, set within a much-enjoyed greenbelt, consisting of productive agricultural land and beautiful open countryside, planning and development decisions should always be very carefully considered and sensitive to protecting the character and setting of our great city. I fear that with the City of York Council’s draft Local Plan, as it currently stands, the exact opposite is occurring.”
He went onto explain that his opposition to much of the Local Plan was based on his concerns over the lack of robust evidence supporting the need for the large scale of development proposed by the Council, their inadequate interpretation of the protections afforded to York’s established greenbelt and the lack of any guarantees for the much needed investment in infrastructure in York and its surrounding communities. “For me, it is a ‘cart before the horse’ Plan”, he wrote.
He also criticised the publicity from the Council to accompany the consultation, which closed on Wednesday. He said he was disappointed that the Further Sites consultation had not been “properly publicised nor has it been thorough in consulting the views of all residents”. The lack of a City wide leaflet from the Council and a reduction in the number of Council-run public exhibitions compared with last year’s ‘Preferred Options’ consultation, sparked claims from Julian that the authority was retreating from “proper and thorough consultation”. He suggested this apparent retreat may be due to officers and ruling councillors not wanting a repeat of last year, when they were overwhelmed by the scale of the response to the consultation. “This, however, is no excuse for not seeking the views of local residents and listening and acting upon them”, he said.
Julian went on to call on the Council to distance itself from the potential developers of the sites within the Local Plan, saying:
“I have been disturbed by the speed with which some developers have been organising public exhibitions on their plans to develop certain sites, namely the land to the east of Earswick and the north of Clifton Moor. This hugely premature activity should be strongly discouraged by the Council, as it is giving many residents the impression of collusion between the authority and the developers and is contributing to a widespread belief that development on these sites is a ‘done deal’. The Council should be at pains to distance itself from any action from developers that is helping to foster these ideas within our communities, otherwise I fear public trust in the local authority will only deteriorate.”
Julian’s full response to the consultation, in which he commented on nearly all of the proposed Further Sites recommendations, can be accessed here.
Pictured: Julian signing a petition against the Local Plan development proposals.
