Agenda item

This report has been prepared to inform and seek views from Members of the Local Plan Working Group in respect of work to date on the development of a York Central local plan policy, to inform overall approach to site allocation.

Members considered a report which informed them of work to date on the development of a York Central local plan policy. The report also updated Members on the work to date on this strategic development site and future milestones for delivery. The Local Plan Working Group was being asked to comment ahead of a separate report to Executive on the same subject.

Officers presented the report and advised that progress had been made over the last 6-12 months to facilitate development at the site. The report set out the starting point and members were informed that it was the intention to initiate consultations in the new year.

Members made the following comments:

·        York will only achieve high value jobs if the site provides Grade A office and commercial space, and it would be unwise to reduce the impact of Enterprise Zone funding by displacing commercial uses in favour of residential development.

·        The residential development scenario figures provided at paragraph 24 of the report were queried by Members. Officers were asked to consider offering a further option of 2000 residential units and 100,000 sq m of commercial space. Officers confirmed that work was ongoing on these figures and further work would be carried out following consultations.

·        The York Central residential quanta in previous iterations of planning documents including Local Plan, Core Strategy and Planning Brief were discussed.It was clarified that concerns raised by the Inspector at the exploratory meeting for the Core Strategy in respect of York Central were related to viability and deliverability of the identified strategic brownfield sites (York Central and British Sugar) rather than concerns specifically over quanta and density.

·        A number of Members felt that family homes should be provided at the site, but some Members queried whether other styles of family housing could also be considered such as 3 or 4 bedroom flats.

·        Some Members felt that it was not possible to have high numbers of both housing and business use without increasing density to an unacceptable level which would negatively impact upon traffic flow and open spaces.

·        It was reported that the Holgate Ward Councillors would support a mixture of housing styles and not just flats.

·        A Member pointed out that there was little mention in the report of sustainability issues and stressed the importance of the site being low carbon and environmentally sustainable.

·        A Member queried the figure given at paragraph 45 of the report which suggested that 10-30% of the site would be given over to other ancillary uses. It was confirmed that  this allowance was made for ancillary uses, such as leisure, to enliven ground floors and create a vibrant mixed use environment,  and that the figure was a suggested range, in advance of more detailed work.

·        A Member queried how other significant sites such as the British Sugar site may impact on what can be achieved at York Central. Officers confirmed that York Central will not be influenced by other sites.

·        A Member requested that consideration of the York Central site should be made alongside the wider Local Plan portfolio of sites. It was confirmed that further detail of Local Plan sites in the round would be brought to Members in due course.

Resolved:           That Local Plan Working Group Members considered the report and provided the comments detailed above for consideration by the Executive.

Reason:              To provide Executive with advice and comment as they shape the York Central site and inform the Local Plan.