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EARSWICK ACTION GROUP

Fight to prevent removal of land from greenbelt goes on!!!

Residents Turn Out in Force to Highlights July 2014 Protest!! Village Protest

Strensall Road Motorists Canvassed

2000 Leaflet Drop in

Counsel’s Opinion Obtained

On Monday 7th July the deprived areas in the North Thirteen Group provided an East. Further information can Action Group Respond to exhibition at Earswick be found on their web site Consultation with Village Hall of their www.thirteengroup.co.uk Comprehensive Grounds of proposals to develop the site Over 200 Earswick Objection east of Earswick village residents turned out in along Strensall Road. force to protest against Thirteen Group is a these proposals with 536 Action Group Speak in registered housing provider signatories, 71% of Objection at Full Council with Strata Homes Ltd and households in Earswick, Meeting Southdale Ltd and are based obtained on the petition in the East in opened on the day. North Minster FM & BBC Radio Hartlepool. They are Press attended and predominantly developers of provided an editorial in York Broadcasts low cost homes built in the paper on 8th July.

Strensall Road Motorists Canvassed On Friday 11 th July members of the Action Group had an early start to the day as they positioned themselves along Strensall Road in Earswick to canvass motorists commuting into York. Motorists were provided with a leaflet outlining the developments proposals and the impact this would have on the road’s infrastructure creating congestion and gridlock for those travelling into York along Strensall Road. Motorists were encouraged to respond to the consultation with their objections.

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‘2000’ Leaflet Drop in Strensall

On Saturday 12th July a number of Action Group members took to the streets of Strensall to seek support in objecting against the proposals.

Nearly 2000 homes were visited and leaflets left highlighting the impact the development would have on those using Strensall Road into York, including huge delays and increased levels of fuel consumption, pollution and noise, as well as the impact such a large development would have on the Green Belt shared and enjoyed by both communities in the Earswick and Strensall area. Further signatures were also obtained to the petition started at the protest meeting.

Counsel’s Opinion Obtained The Action Group has secured the services of a leading barrister, Anthony Gill of Kings Chambers. Anthony specialises in planning and has advisory experience in all of these areas, and regularly appears in planning inquiries, enforcement inquiries, and enforcement prosecutions. Following a full assessment of all the documentation produced by in connection with their draft Local Plan and in particular the 88 hectare site designated as ‘Site 810’ adjacent to Willow Grove our Barrister has formed some interesting and helpful arguments. It has been identified that Green belt boundaries can only be altered in exceptional circumstances and should be capable of enduring beyond the plan period. Removal of land MUST be predicated upon exceptional circumstances. In a recent court judgment (Gallagher Estates Ltd V Solihull MBC) it was held that the test for redefining a Green belt boundary has not been changed by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and it is not arguable that a mere process of preparing a new local plan could be regarded as exceptional circumstances. A plan maker may err in law if he fails to adopt a lawful approach to exceptional circumstances. Once a Green Belt has been established and approved it requires more than general planning concepts to justify an alteration. The Barrister goes on to point out that the terms of recommendation in the Council’s consultation document are inconsistent with the principles of ‘safeguarded land’ and questions the appropriateness of the terms of the recommendation, which seems to undermine the goals and principles of the NPPF. The ambiguous reference to potential allocation is ‘backdoor’ allocation under the guise of ‘safeguarding’ and contrary to the NPPF. In conclusion he states that the terms of the Councils ‘recommendation’ should not be pursued (in any form) to the Local Plan examination and even if the form of words survived in some form should not be endorsed by the examination inspector. Action Group Respond to Consultation

Following the very helpful legal advice from Anthony Gill, a very well structured argument has been submitted by the Action Group in opposition to the proposals to the City Council. This, a very comprehensive letter, highlighted many of the relevant points of objection, together with reference to legal opinion, was sent direct to Martin Grainger Head of Planning, and his assurance sought that this would be included in the consultation process. The full content of the letter can be viewed by visiting the Earswick Parish Council web site at www.earswick.org.uk and looking in the section marked “Document Archive”.

Action Group Speak at Full Council Meeting

On Thursday 17th July a full cabinet meeting of York City Council was held at the Guildhall.

Along with elected representatives, Councillors Paul Doughty and Carol Runciman who presented and supported the petition against the proposed development, the Action Group representative John Williams spoke for the allotted 3 minutes during the public participation section in support of the petition in opposition to the proposed development. Tony Fisher, Liberal Democrat Campaigner for Strensall Ward, further spoke in support of this.

If you wish to see a copy of the Action Group’s presentation to Council it is available on the Earswick Parish Council web site at www.earswick.org.uk , under the section marked “Document Archive” , OR, by speaking to any member of the Action Group.

The meeting is available for viewing by visiting the York City Council web site or on You Tube at the link below: -

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCefwpD2Fea1xBZdNp9vbfJjr6GpyrUS4 Response to Question to Cabinet Member

Donec At the Full Council Meeting on 17th July Councillor Paul Doughty submitted the following question in an effort to elicit further information on the Council involvementinterdum with the early stages of interest in the development of the land at Earswick: -

“Can the Cabinet Member please give all details, including dates, when any officer or member has had any dialogue, written or otherwise, with any agent, developer, housing association or other interested party regarding the proposed removal of 220 acres of green belt land at Earswick, which as part of the Local Plan further sites consultation, is to be re- categorised as ‘safeguarded’ land for future development?”

The following answer has now been received from Councillor Merrett: -Pellentesque:

I’m not in a position to confirm absolutely all these details at such limited notice. What I can say is that from both a planning and housing perspective there have been officer meetings with the site promoter of this site both before and following its submission during and after the June to July 2013 Local Plan Preferred Options consultation. Planning officers discussed and outlined concerns relating to the issues detailed in the Local Plan Further Sites Consultation document and technical appendix. They also met with them again during the latest consultation to explore these issues.

From the housing side, the Council has been aware of emerging proposals for this site since October 2012. Advice was sought by a property agent working on behalf of a single landowner regarding affordable housing policies. Officers were contacted by and met with Fabrick Housing Group in July 2013 where the broad ambitions of the current proposed development were presented. Following submission of the site under the ‘call for sites’ the Development Director of Fabrick Housing Group attended a meeting of the Get York Building Board in December 2013 to outline the vision for the development including 50% affordable housing and construction training opportunities. The council were also asked if they would be interested in investing in the development. Officer views are that if the site is allocated in the Local Plan the potential for housing investment could be considered depending on the business case presented. Also in December the site sponsorConsectetuer met with: the Homes and Communities Agency and with the representatives of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and the York, North and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership. Officers from the council were present at these meetings which explored whether there might be LEP or HCA funding available towards infrastructure costs were the development to proceed. As a result of this response the Action Group are submitting a very detailed and comprehensive Freedom Of Information request covering not only the developer’s interest in this land but other environmental and socio-economic issues.

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What happens next???

The Action Group wish to emphasise to all residents that no decision has yet been made by the City Council to remove this land from the green belt and therefore the pressure in objecting and the fight must still go on. The initial consultation period ended on 16th July and the City Council are now considering all comments, which we hope as many residents as possible have already submitted.

The council timescale for an announcement of their decision is mid-September, however it is possible that this date may slip due to the volume of comments made.

If the Council do not accept our arguments against ‘safeguarding’ the Earswick site for development, the site will be included in a Final Draft of the York Local Plan that will be subject of further consultation.

This period lasts 6 weeks and it is crucial that, if the original decision goes in favour of ‘safeguarding the green belt’, all residents write in again with their comments.

The final decision is expected in October so it can be presented to the full October Council Meeting and once approved will be submitted to the Secretary of State for an independent examination by a Planning Inspector, at which point we will have an opportunity to make further representations.

The Action Group will notify residents as soon as anything is heard.

What are the Action Group Doing???

The Action Group continues to fight on behalf of the residents in opposition to the proposals to ‘safeguard the green belt’.

We have met on a regular basis and our plans going forward include the following actions: -

• Meeting with Julian Sturdy MP • Submission of a very comprehensive Freedom of Information request • Make contact with and seek support from, Yorkshire Wildlife, Campaign for Protection of Rural , English Heritage, York Civic Society and National Trust. • Further contact with legal Counsel to seek advice on the next stage of the process. • Further contact and letters to York Press and local radio stations. • Identification of a suitable planning consultant to assist in any further consultation or appeal. • Production of this Newsletter to update all residents of the situation and work undertaken.

What is required from YOU??

We require your support with the continuing fight to protect the green belt and prevent any future development.

You can do this by continuing with supporting the Action Group, writing to elected representatives, the Press and other media to express your concerns and objections.

Should we be unsuccessful at the first stage of the process then it is likely that funding will be required to secure assistance from a Planning Consultant and Legal Counsel to take forward our objections.

At the moment the costs for the initial legal advice have been covered by donations from the Willow Grove Residents Association and Earswick Parish Council.

Going forward we may need to seek donations from all residents to form a fighting fund. We will provide further information on this in due course, to the extent that it becomes neccessry.

If you have any suggestions or are able to assist in anyway please contact any member of the Action Group: -

John Williams – [email protected]

Jacky Ridley - [email protected]

Derek Jones – [email protected]

Pat Leveson – [email protected]

Sarah Brown – [email protected]

Carol Lister - [email protected]

Peter Sokolow – [email protected]

Beverley Rigg – [email protected]

Allan Charlsworth – [email protected]

John Pace – [email protected]

Tim Bright – [email protected]