Heronby: Campaign launched against plans for new village

People living in four villages in North Yorkshire have teamed up to campaign against plans for 3,500 homes to be built in the area.

The site at Heronby, between York and Selby, has been chosen as the preferred location for a new village to be built.

But local residents have set up the Halt Heronby action group, claiming the scheme was "damaging and unnecessary".

Selby Council has not yet made a final decision on the plan and a public consultation is under way.

Villagers and parish councils in Riccall, Escrick, Stillingfleet and Deighton have said they would campaign against the planned settlement, which would be based on a 173 hectare (427 acre) stretch of land to the south of Escrick Road in the village of Stillingfleet.

Landowner Escrick Park Estate said the homes would be built in stages, with the final one not completed until the 2060s.

The estate described the proposals for Heronby as a "garden village", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But Halt Heronby member Phil Wade said: "This is not a village as it is being marketed. With eventually up to 3,500 homes and a population of up to 12,000 people, it is clearly a town that is being planned - that is bigger than Tadcaster."

Campaigners said they also had concerns about an increase in traffic on the A19 and the impact on Moreby Wood and Heron Wood, located in the centre of the proposed site.

Sean Kenyon, from York, a part-owner of Moreby Wood, said the woodlands "would have delicate ecosystems damaged beyond recovery during the build period".

When the consultation on the plans was launched, Selby District Council leader Mark Crane said: "The Heronby settlement will take a long time to construct and will require a range of new infrastructure to be in place, including a bypass around the village of Escrick, the provision of new primary and secondary schools, health care and recreation facilities."

A spokesperson for Escrick Park Estate said it hoped Heronby would play "a major role" in helping provide new home, services and amenities "for the people of the district for many years to come".

"This is a long-term project, which would see Heronby grow steadily in the decades to come, creating a community with employment space, schools, shops and green open spaces that sit comfortably within the landscape," they added.

"Our transport strategy addresses the challenges of delivering highway improvements to the A19, including a bypass for Escrick village, whilst at the same time building a community that provides the majority of its residents' daily needs within a walkable distance."

The consultation into the plans runs until 7 October.

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