With the Conservative-led administration’s draft local plan having passed Tuesday’s meeting of the Executive, it now heads to a special Full Council meeting on the 17th of May prior to submission to the Government Inspectorate.
Council Leader Ian Gillies is urging councillors of all parties to set aside their parochial ward concerns and ideological hobby-horses and to support the plan for the good of York:
“York and its residents deserve a balanced local plan which acknowledges both the wishes of current residents and our future housing and employment needs over the next 15 years. After extensive consultation this is what we have produced, unlike the previous Labour administration, who wanted to cram as many houses as possible into their proposal, to the detriment of what makes York special. Residents told us in their droves that they wouldn’t have it.
“Time has moved on and our party believes York needs new houses, which our plan will deliver whilst conserving key elements of the green belt and York’s special character. We’ve focused on brown field sites and on the creation of two new garden villages which have the potential to provide successful new communities. But all wards will be taking additional housing as well they should.
“The proposed Local Plan is a compromise, but it’s a successful one. We either pass a plan on the 17th which has been created and supported for and by the people of York, or the Government’s civil servants will take over and impose a plan. I ask councillors of all parties not to let their residents down and to support this plan for the sake of our city.”