Developers move ahead with 3,500-home village plan

Developers behind plans for a new village of about 3,500 homes between York and Selby have said they hope to apply for planning permission by the end of the year.

The Escrick Park Estate has revived its plans for the village, called Heronby, after being put on hold while North Yorkshire's local government was reorganised.

At a public event this week, some local residents voiced fears about the proposals, including Lesley Hardisty, from nearby Escrick, who said she was "really concerned" about extra traffic.

But Beilby Forbes Adam, from Escrick Park Estate, said: "I'm not going to pretend the A19 won't remain a busy road, but a development like Heronby can enable a series of improvements."

Hardisty also told the meeting, which was held in Escrick, that "people drive through our village at 60mph".

At the event, held in Escrick, where the latest plans for Heronby were on display, officials said the planning application would see the proposed construction of two new roundabouts linking the site to the nearby A19.

There would also be three new T- junctions into Heronby from Stillingfleet Lane, and a road through the village designed to allow buses to pick up and drop off passengers heading to and from York.

The team from Escrick Park Estate also pointed to the Trans Pennine Trail long-distance cycling route which runs through the middle of the site, and said they were "exploring" the possibility of including a small Heronby Park & Ride.

Forbes Adam said the "interventions" outlined by officials would apply "from the A19 and A64 junction, right down as far south as Riccall".

"Those interventions will mean that, while the number of vehicles will be increased, the traffic flow - the speed you can move between the points - will also be increased," he explained.

But Hardisty claimed that even if 50% of the people who moved into the new village used public transport during the week, or worked at home, the other 50% would still be "trying to use the A19".

"There are crashes sometimes at the Deighton junction and people sometimes can't cross over from the bus stop because of the traffic," she told the meeting.

"In the morning, the traffic queues are from the village entrance to Crockey Hill, then when you get near to York, Fulford Road is gridlocked.

"I don't know where they will put the new traffic flow. It will take forever to get to York or onto the bypass. I think it's dangerous and hasn't been thought through."

Meanwhile, Paul Holt, who lives in Stillingfleet, said one of his main concerns over the plans for the new village was the loss of farmland.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's good land that can feed people," he told the meeting.

"Fields are being covered with solar panels, especially in the Selby area, and with the instability elsewhere in Europe, food security is going to be a big problem."

Holt said while he understood the need for new homes, he believed they should be built closer to places where people can work.

"Sherburn-in-Elmet is an example," he said.

"It's a place with a lot of major warehouses. They've built the homes to go with that employment. Here, we're in the middle of nowhere."

Responding, Forbes Adam said the farmland that would be used was "mixed and of differing grades".

The majority of land to the south of the site was not classed as "best and most versatile", he told attendees.

"There is some better land as you move further north, but it doesn't produce wheat or barley to a grade fit for human consumption. We are primarily feeding livestock," Forbes Adam said.

"There is huge competition for land, but what we are bringing forward would equate to 0.0092% of Yorkshire's farmland.

"So, while I appreciate there are competing needs, housing is incredibly important here."

As part of the latest proposals for Heronby, the estate has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment scoping request to North Yorkshire Council.

The request is not a planning application, but asks officers to identify the environmental issues needing to be examined before a formal application is lodged.

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