THE SITE AND PLANNING BACKGROUND
Key site information
- Located north of the A1237 (Outer Ring Road) and west of the B1363 (Wigginton Road)
- Close proximity to employment, retail and leisure facilities at Clifton Moor
- The site is a combination of agricultural fields with boundary hedgerows and trees
- Predominantly flat site, with strong potential for development as evidenced by it being identified as a Strategic Housing Allocation in the emerging York Local Plan
- Located on the edge of the city, with strong connections to the Outer Ring Road and onwards to the city centre
- The proposal will include a Primary School and the site is in close proximity to Joseph Rowntree School
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Planning history
Land to the West of Wigginton Road, referred to as the New Village North of Clifton Moor, is identified as a Strategic Allocation in the submitted York Local Plan (ST14) to deliver a new sustainable new village of a minimum of 1,348 new homes, alongside the delivery of significant community infrastructure.
York’s Local Plan is expected for formal adoption later this year, ensuring this site (ST14) is formally allocated for development. Due to the scale and complexity of this site, as well as the urgent need to deliver on local housing requirements, an initial planning application is being progressed now.
The brief
The identified Vision of the New Village site is to deliver: –
“A new village with its own identity and good local facilities to meet the everyday needs of residents as the community grows over time.
“A new village which is well-connected to the centre of York and surrounding settlements by sustainable modes of transport but clearly separated and screened from existing settlements to avoid coalescence.
“A place that feels a part of York but is still a separate place”.
Site constraints & opportunities
- Highways – City of York Council is progressing plans to dual the Outer Ring Road and create a new access roundabout to the south of the development near Clifton Moor Retail Park, which will include the creation of a new fourth arm from the Clifton Moor roundabout to access the site. A new pedestrian and cycle underpass connection will also be provided.
- Drainage – New surface water and foul drainage infrastructure will be delivered to cater for the needs of the development without impacting upon the capacity of the surrounding area’s existing drainage infrastructure.
- Landscaping – existing hedgerows and field margins will be respected in the scheme design. Greenspace will be located along view corridors to the Minster, to offer this view from the new development. This, along with other design considerations, will ensure a landscape-led masterplan.
- Ecology – Detailed survey work is taking place to protect native species and encourage wildlife migration along field margins. The overall aim is to ensure the plans achieve at least a 10% biodiversity net gain.
- Arboriculture – initial survey work indicates that hedgerows and healthy trees will be maintained where possible.
- Heritage – Whilst views to the Minster from the site are limited, they will be taken into account when deciding the location of open spaces and landscaping features.