Agenda item

Graham Trewhella and Peter Alcock from Cass Associates will explain what’s happening at the Nestle site and how that will develop.

5.1             Graham Trewhella from Cass Associates provided update on the Nestlé site developments.

5.2             15 acres of land are free on the southern section of the site since production moved to the northern buildings, and it is this area which they are looking to develop.

5.3             A conservation area has been identified on Haxby Road; including some of the buildings. The brief includes a green area in this section.

5.4             The new front buildings will potentially host student accommodation, office accommodation, a community centre and retail space among other things. Family housing will make up the rest of the development.

5.5             A central pedestrian walkway will form the spine that runs through the development, with adjacent public space.

5.6             Access is a key issue for the site. Plans at the moment are for traffic to be able to enter from both Wigginton and Haxby Roads, but not to connect the two.

5.7             A public consultation has been held. Feedback received was generally in favour of the developments. They are looking at the possibility of incorporating a gym and performance space based on comments received, and a traffic model is being produced to look at the effects of traffic in the area that these developments would have.

Residents had the following questions and comments:

Q         Who will make the final decision regarding the access road? It would be a good idea to have the two roads linked to ease congestion.

A         The decision will come out of the traffic modelling exercise, which will show whether it is a sensible idea or not.

Q         What is happening to the building known as ‘The Bear Pit’? It had a splendid interior and is worth preserving.

A            English Heritage looked at all the buildings, but didn’t consider it worth listing. It is very difficult to keep due to its location in the heart of the site.

Q         Have you been in contact with Cycle City regarding using the central spine as a cycle path?

A         Have been in contact with Sustrans regarding extending the network in the north of the city.

Q         How do we input into the transport survey?

A         Speak with Richard Bogg (Richard.bogg@york.gov.uk). Please do feed in before the end of the survey.

Q         Is the traffic model looking at the impact on cycling as well?

A         No; there is a parallel study looking at that which is running now. Contact Richard Bogg for details.

Q         The spine will be a good connection, but surely a magnet for anti-social behaviour at night. Are the police involved with planning?

A         The architectural liaison in the police is involved. It is important to have residential properties fronting onto the spine, as this will discourage anti-social behaviour.

Q         Very happy with that experts have been consulted in producing the traffic model, as there have been some issues with ineffective modelling in the ward.

Q         What constitutes family housing in this development?

A         Linked terraces, two or three storeys high. The amount of car parking space will influence traffic, so while there will be some opportunities for off-road parking, the council is not looking to attract too much additional traffic.

Q         If parking is restricted, then is the idea of a bus route going through the site more of a possibility?

A         Yes, but the bus services would have to be convinced it was worth doing. Bus gates/bollards would be used to prevent normal traffic from using the link road.