Agenda item
Terry's Site - A Revised Development Brief
Find out what’s happening to progress the development of the former Terry’s site and how you can have your say.
Minutes:
Derek Gauld, Principle City Development Officer introduced himself and gave some information on the current situation of the Terry’s site development.
- The first council development brief was produced 3 years ago and much has happened since then.
- The development plans were refused in August 2008,
main reasons being:
- the impact on local roads and junctions
- lack of clarity in original plans
- overdevelopment
- Since 2005 there have been changes to national policy so the development plans need to be updated anyway. York has now been approved as a focus for growth.
- The revised brief now incorporates more detailed sections on traffic and transport, cycling, crime prevention, etc. to ensure better clarity and advice for developers. The revised sections are in red.
- A review of local employment is still being put together but the development looks like it will provide a good opportunity for new jobs.
- Housing market assessment proved housing need and affordability levels.
- A traffic and transport review is looking into a possible bypass route for Bishopthorpe to deal with the potential traffic increase problems.
- Community involvement must be taken into account when the development is being planned.
- Community Forums are an opportunity for local residents to discuss their issues with the development. Community forums meet every month. This is an important part of the process, as they come up with broad options, which are then fed into wider public exhibitions.
- The aim is to come up with a ‘masterplan’ of preferred options.
- The consultation on the Council’s (separate) planning brief started on the 12th January 2009 and will run until 23rd February. 2000 copies have been distributed to local houses. They can also be found in local libraries and public buildings and are available at this meeting.
- First meeting of the Community Forum was last week and there is a public consultation at St. Chad’s church hall on this coming Saturday.
Questions raised by residents were:
- Q: The public consultation being held on the 14th February is put on by the developers only. Is there any participation on behalf of the council?
A: Developers are keen on holding their own exhibitions, but council officers will be there on the day.
- Q: One resident offered congratulations to the councillors on taking on local residents’ views on the previous development plans. He then queried that the major issue was traffic increase and there seemed to not be a lot planned except the Bishopthorpe bypass.
A: Yes this is a major issue and they have stated in the brief that it is absolutely critical that there is a bus service. They are also looking into a Park and Ride service and cyclist access. They are working with Highways to look into traffic problems. There are 6 junctions to look at around the site.
Q: The resident highlighted that there are particular problems with parking around local streets and unless policed this cannot be stopped. People cannot be forced to take a bus. He was in opposition to the double yellow lines on Bishopthorpe Road which would create a loss of on-street parking.
A: York is generally excellent in terms of offering alternative transport, such as buses and cycle routes, so they are working hard to encourage this. The concerns regarding double yellow lines can be put in later when details are added to the brief.
- Q: A resident suggested that the bypass would tempt large amounts of traffic down Bishopthorpe Road. He stressed that before deciding on the Bishopthorpe bypass and yellow lines we need to think very carefully about their effects, as it could make local traffic problems a lot worse than they are now.
A: Cllr D.M.: It was John Galvin (Bishopthorpe councillor) who put in the bypass proposal. The Micklegate councillors have raised exactly this concern about the suggested bypass and they successfully moved an amendment to the Council motion to look into and take this into account. Cllr Merrett also commented that a bypass would probably be too costly and he suspected it was unlikely to go ahead anyway.
- Derek Gauld stated that the plans are aimed to be ready for the executive members advisory panel by late March, and then made public. He encouraged residents to write in with any further concerns they had.
- Cllr S.F. reiterated that there are concerns about traffic and they are being looked at.
- Q: A resident said that the plan needs to look at the cumulative effects of traffic across the whole city, from other development works, e.g. new housing near Tesco, University expansion.
A: Yes the cumulative effects will be included in traffic assessment. There is a baseline position, then a projected position which takes all possible traffic into account.
- Q: Is there a local residents group for the community forum?
A: Yes, there are at least four members from around the site. Everyone is invited to their meetings.