Julian vows to protect Greenbelt following Council Local Plan announcement
April 12, 2013
Julian has today vowed to fight to protect the Greenbelt surrounding York from unnecessary development, following the City of York Council’s announcement that they intend to build over 1000 houses a year.
The Council’s draft Local Plan has been met with mixed views since it was announced earlier today. However, Julian has outlined his strong opposition to the Council’s plans, which could involve building over 4000 new homes in Skelton and 5000 to the south of Heslington in the near future.
On the announcements, Julian said:
“I was hugely disappointed to hear of the Council’s plan to drive a horse and cart through our existing Greenbelt protection. I am deeply concerned that the draft Local Plan has the potential to destroy the character and environment of our great city’s rural setting.
“After meeting with a number of Parish Councillors from across my constituency last night, I am all too aware of their strong desire to see development kept to an absolute minimum within York’s Greenbelt. However the Council appear to be flying in the face of all those who want to protect our Greenbelt, by proposing to build 1090 homes per year – around a 40% increase on the previous Local Development Framework targets. York simply does not have the infrastructure to enable them to deliver this target. They will only be able to achieve it by carving up our Greenbelt and ignoring the wishes of the vast majority of my constituents.
“I will now be strongly urging the Local Authority to engage in a proper and full consultation with local residents and parish councils. In the interests of democracy, they must act in accordance with their wishes.”
