New housing sites for York - and controversial Travellers' site plans changed - Yorkshire

From the Press

CONTROVERSIAL plans for two Travellers sites in York are set to be abandoned, while potential new sites for housing schemes have been revealed...

...It also said creating a Travellers site on the section of the land which is not prone to flooding would have “a significant adverse effect on the village’s character and setting” and would “encroach” on the surrounding countryside.

The site on Malton Road is also set to be dropped because the land would be too expensive.

Officials have also said the existing Osbaldwick site should not be expanded beyond the six extra pitches already planned, although three pitches for travelling showpeople could be created at a site called The Stables, in Elvington, and seven more pitches for Travellers may be set up at a separate site on Elvington Lane.

The report said York is likely to need 66 more pitches for Travellers over the 15-year lifespan of the Local Plan, which runs up to 2030, and the current proposals would leave a shortfall of 59, as well as a need to find five more plots for showpeople. It said “further site or policy options” will have to be looked at.

The Local Plan is expected to be in place by the start of next year and the council said it would formalise York’s green belt for the first time, but the amount of housing already proposed for greenfield sites has been heavily criticised since the proposals first emerged a year ago...