Issue - meetings

The Corporate Director of Place to present a report which provides an assessment of the two potential locations for a new rail station in Haxby and asks Members to endorse a single preferred site for further development.

Resolved:  (i)      That the decisions made at Executive on 30 September 2021 concerning the Haxby Station project be noted.

                   (ii)      That the deletion of the second half of paragraph 16 of the report (from ‘Furthermore’ onwards), as reported at the meeting, be noted.

                   (iii)     That Site 2 – Towthorpe Road be approved as the preferred location for a station in Haxby to take forward for further development.

                   (iv)    That the further public consultation planned to be undertaken during the next development stage, to understand any local concerns and the measures which should be considered to mitigate any impact of progressing the preferred site, be noted.

                   (v)     That it be noted that further reports will be brought to Executive to update Members on progress.

Reason:     To afford City of York Council the best opportunity to progress this project and present the strongest case possible to Central Government (the Department for Transport; and Treasury) for the granting of funding to enable the full delivery of a new rail station at Haxby.

The Director of Transport, Environment & Planning and the Senior Transport Manager presented a report which provided an assessment of the two potential locations for the new rail station at Haxby and asked Members to select a preferred site to take forward for further development.

The background to the Haxby Station project had been reported to Executive on 30 September 2021 (Minute 41 of that meeting refers).  Since then, four additional sites had been considered and assessed for suitability but only two sites – Station Road (Site 1) and Towthorpe Road (Site 2) – had been assessed as feasible.  Plans and assessments of both sites were annexed to the report.

The following options were detailed in report paragraphs 13-38:

Option 1 – Approve the Site 1 (Station Road) location.  Not recommended due to the risks and costs of the land acquisition and concerns regarding timing and planning consent.

Option 2 – Approve the Site 2 (Towthorpe Road) location.  This was the recommended option, as it presented the strongest case in terms of the key issues of land acquisition and constructability, and for the granting of funding to deliver the station.

Option 3 – Do nothing.  Not recommended, as it would not achieve delivery of a station at Haxby.

In presenting the report, officers indicated that they wished to delete the reference in paragraph 16 to an issue with the land to the east of Site 1, as this had been negated by recent correspondence with the landowner.  Members welcomed the proposals and the investment in rail, noting the public support for a station at Haxby and acknowledging the tight timescales for access to funding. Having taken into consideration the comments made under Public Participation and the written comments, it was

Resolved:  (i)      That the decisions made at Executive on 30 September 2021 concerning the Haxby Station project be noted.

                   (ii)      That the deletion of the second half of paragraph 16 of the report (from ‘Furthermore’ onwards), as reported at the meeting, be noted.

                   (iii)     That Site 2 – Towthorpe Road be approved as the preferred location for a station in Haxby to take forward for further development.

                   (iv)    That the further public consultation planned to be undertaken during the next development stage, to understand any local concerns and the measures which should be considered to mitigate any impact of progressing the preferred site, be noted.

                   (v)     That it be noted that further reports will be brought to Executive to update Members on progress.

Reason:     To afford City of York Council the best opportunity to progress this project and present the strongest case possible to Central Government (the Department for Transport; and Treasury) for the granting of funding to +enable the full delivery of a new rail station at Haxby.