York Local Plan
CITY OF YORK PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT LOCAL PLAN 2017 (REGULATION 18) CONSULTATION
SUBMISSION BY WHELDRAKE PARISH COUNCIL OCTOBER 2017
General Comments
The Parish Council submitted comments for the Preferred Sites Consultation in September 2016, many of which are reiterated in this document.
The Parish Council, following a consultation with villagers, overwhelmingly objects to the size and scale of the proposed development at Station Yard, ST33, as it is completely inappropriate for Wheldrake. As proposed ST33, would place an unacceptable and unjustifiable pressure on current infrastructure and services; many of which have already been stretched beyond their current capacity. This includes the village school, which has for some time been unable to accommodate all the eligible School aged children. Please see Appendix 1 and the previous submission by the Parish Council on 1 September 2016, which was put together after a consultation with the villagers of Wheldrake and an in-depth debate at the August Parish Council Meeting held on 31 August 2016 already lodged with the City of York Council.
The Parish Council fully supports the proposed Garden Village to the South of York and strongly supports the developer’s proposal to increase the number of dwellings within the proposed revised boundaries, which will more fully justify the infrastructure necessary. This includes a new Senior School and a new junction for the A64 which will ease the traffic pressure in the adjacent villages of Elvington in particular and Wheldrake. The Parish Council also welcomes the changes made from the previous Administration’s Draft Local Plan, which may have been aspirational but unlikely to be deliverable. The Parish Council also recognises that great efforts have been made in the revised Draft Local Plan to ensure that much greater emphasis is placed upon Brown field sites, certainly in the first instance, before impacting upon the green belt: Which we fully understand would not be the position adopted by developers as green belt development is a much easier target for them
General Comments about Proposals which would affect Wheldrake Village and Parish
The Parish Council has significant concerns about the remaining preferred site ST33
‘Station Yard’ and the related changes proposed to the allocation of land for future expansion of the Industrial Estate.
The Parish Council supports the manifesto of the York Action Group Alliance (YAGA) which supports all the outer Parish Councils of greater York, in particular some of the objectives of the YAGA manifesto are particularly applicable to Wheldrake:
*Maintain the character of the villages.
*Ensure that any expansion proposals take account of infrastructure, transport, public services and amenity limitations; (see appendix 1)
*Encourage urban wards and rural parishes to identify local sites that avoid adverse transport and infrastructure impacts.
*Pursue a planning led approach to determining community expansion and not endorsing landowner/developer led proposals and by inference.
*Tap into community support via community engagement expressed through Neighbourhood Plans and Village Design Statements.
Proposals at ST33 (Housing at ‘Station Yard’) and E8 (Expansion of Millfield
Industrial Estate)
Wheldrake has an adopted Village Design Statement (VDS) but has yet to develop a Neighbourhood Plan (NP). The VDS does not support either of the proposed developments and it is highly likely that whilst an NP would support some housing development this would be very unlikely to be on the scale of that proposed. It could also be in alternative locations.
The proximity of the development to the industrial estate is also an issue. A planning application for that part of ST33 nearest to the industrial estate has been rejected in the past for reasons of potential noise and other impacts on proposed adjacent properties.
A significant proportion of ST33 is located on good quality agricultural land and also
within the currently recognised Green Belt. Past proposals for housing in this area were rejected in the adopted local plan of 1979 and in subsequent draft plans prior to 2014 (see appendix 2). Also, during draft Green Belt boundary review proposals to remove the green field, part of this area was rejected.
The Parish Council maintains its objection as for the previous plan in relation to the proposed expansion of the industrial estate at its north side (E8) because of the very adverse impact at the primary gateway to the village where the visual approach could be dominated by industrial type buildings rather than a pleasant green space as at present. The Conservation Area western edge is also close to the proposed area of E8. The Council is not opposed to expansion but considers that this should be at the south end of the industrial estate as proposed in the previous LP. However, that extension has now been included in the proposed area of ST33 for housing.
Proposed Garden Village (ST15)
The Parish Council has also considered the likely impact of this proposed development which would be located near to the north-west boundary of the parish in the area of the ancient (but long since defunct) parish of Langwith. It is noted that some of the land concerned can be considered to be brown field being on part of the Elvington Airfield.
The Parish Council recognises that the changes made from the previous plan (Whinthorpe development) has resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of agricultural land and Green Belt taken up. Whist there are unlikely to be significant impacts on Wheldrake village (assuming that the only access to the south would be confined to a cycle/footway), there are a number of residential properties and a farm in the northern part of the Parish which would be in close proximity to the proposed south-eastern boundary of the proposed village and would be impacted for a considerable period during construction. This would to some degree be offset by the cessation of current noisy ground based leisure activities on that part of the airfield.
Whilst there may be some concern about the loss of Green Belt, the Parish Council takes the view that it is preferable to carry out the form of proposed development which would have the following advantages as compared to the ‘bolting on’ of large densely spaced housing onto to villages with inadequate infrastructure as exemplified by the proposed development of ST33 (‘Station Yard’):
- Integrated infrastructure to achieve sustainability objectives
- Garden Village design which would provide appropriate spatial layout of housing, green space and amenity open space.
Helen Guest
A/Clerk/RFO
Wheldrake Parish Council
CITY OF YORK PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT LOCAL PLAN 2017 (REGULATION 18) CONSULTATION
SUBMISSION BY WHELDRAKE PARISH COUNCIL OCTOBER 2017
Appendix 1
Summary of the current Infrastructure of Wheldrake Village and Parish
Schools:
Primary/Junior The village school is currently over subscribed.
Senior Normally Fulford. The school will be impacted by the approved development of the large Germany Beck housing site.
Shops One shop only, a Mini supermarket which includes a Post Office counter. There are long standing issues related to deliveries, parking and traffic congestion. There are also deliveries to customers by large supermarkets and a mobile butcher.
(Shops – Historical In 1978 there were 3 general stores, a butcher’s shop, a newsagent/post office, clothes shop, petrol station and a garage).
Public House One with reasonable parking.
Church One with some degree of parking issues.
Recreation The Village Hall has recently completed a restoration project after structural failure. There are adjacent football, cricket, tennis and bowls facilities. Numerous parking issues are associated with large or multiple events.
Facilities for Children The play park has been upgraded recently by a community group supported by the Parish Council
Medical Facilities Primary facilities are located in Elvington 5km to the north east. A satellite centre is located in Wheldrake with very restricted opening hours and very restricted parking. There is an infrequent bus service between Wheldrake and Elvington. A significant number of residents use the medical practice in Escrick, some 5 km to the west to which there is no public transport.
Allotments These were established about eight years ago and are operated on a private basis.
Road Infrastructure All roads in the Parish are of category C. The highest volume of traffic uses the route leading to the A19. This major road is badly congested at peak times and this is likely to become more acute in association with developments at Selby and Fulford. The alternative access route to York via Elvington is poor with numerous sharp bends and restricted visibility along a 3km length. York CC statistics indicate that it is included in the worst 20 routes in the city area in terms of fatal and injury accidents.
Public Transport Bus services are provided by two operators with an approximate overall hourly frequency each way between York and Wheldrake from 07.30 to 18.30 on weekdays. On Fridays and Saturdays there is a late evening limited service. The sparse Sunday services could be withdrawn unless York and/or North Yorkshire Authorities assist East Yorkshire Council with financial support.
Water, Electricity and Gas Supplies These are currently adequate although some streets are still served by overhead electricity distribution lines.
Foul Drainage A large portion of the village is served by a central collection and pumping system with a pipeline to a treatment facility about 1km to the south. Serious potential or actual pollution events occur from time to time which are associated with system blockages and/or pump failure and/or problems at the treatment works. The most recent (and second major occurrence this year), was at the end of August 2016. The removal of foul intake water by road tankers was required over 24-hour periods.
Flooding There have been no recent problems with surface water flooding other than localised issues with blockage of drains, ditches or culverts. The addition of a large new housing development would clearly require a full appraisal of surface water run-off and downstream capability and resilience.
CITY OF YORK PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT LOCAL PLAN 2017 (REGULATION 18) CONSULTATION
SUBMISSION BY WHELDRAKE PARISH COUNCIL OCTOBER 2017
Appendix 2
History of Proposals for the area now identified as ST33.
In 1979 a plan was adopted by the then controlling Authority of Selby District
Council for the development of six villages: ‘The Six Village Study’ - Wheldrake being one of the six. During the previous year, several planning applications had been refused for parts
of the area now being proposed for development. It should be noted that a primary reason for refusal was the lack of foul drainage infrastructure.
The area was indicated on the ‘Study’ assessment plan for expansion along with others in various parts of the village which could be developed once the required infrastructure was in place. However, it was not included in the final adopted plan. Most of the proposed areas for housing have subsequently been developed and substantial additional ones also built which were not on the 1979 plan.
As previously mentioned, a later application for the part of the area adjacent to the industrial estate was refused for the reasons stated. Approval was given more recently for three houses fronting onto Main Street. This was the only part of the original area considered suitable for development on the adopted Selby plan of 1979. The reasons for not including the full area in the adopted plan of 1979 and subsequent draft plans, were broadly in line with those now being indicated: proximity to the Industrial Estate, expansion beyond the natural village boundary, loss of good agricultural land and incursion into the Green Belt.
Bearing in mind the expansion of the village since 1979 and the identified loss and lack of infrastructure, it is clear that the location, form and scale of the proposed site ST33 is inappropriate. It is also not compatible with the objectives of the adopted Village Design Statement.