Plans to construct a residential care home in the place of a business property in the heart of Fulford’s conservation area have drawn objections from local residents who are concerned about the overdevelopment of the area.

A planning application has been submitted seeking approval to construct the two story building to the rear of Harlington House, off Main Street, in Fulford.

I have called the application in to the area planning committee in order to give local residents the chance to air their concerns at a public meeting.

I have been contacted by a number of residents who have concerns about the development, especially in terms of the effect the new building will have on nearby houses.

Residents have concerns about the extra traffic this development would generate and about the effect the development will have on surface water drainage.

I have also objected to the plan as ward Councillor on behalf of local residents. I believe this application would be an overdevelopment of the particular locality and would have a negative impact on the Fulford conservation area so I have written to City of York Council to formally object to the plans.

The level of concern from local residents means it is important for the application to be considered at a public planning committee to ensure that local residents get a full opportunity to present their views before a decision is taken.

I would encourage all local residents to take a look at the plans and share their views with the Council.

Planning applications can be viewed online via the City of York Council website.

A few weeks ago I wrote to City of York Council Planning Officers to express concerns raised by local residents about plans to build 3 new detached houses in gardens to the rear of 34 Main Street, Fulford. (Read the original story here)

I am pleased to report that, following the objections, the planning application has been withdrawn.

The plans were not suitable for the area and I am glad that the concerns of local residents have been taken into account.

Dobbies Garden Centres have withdrawn their appeal against the refusal of planning permission for a new garden centre on green belt land in Fulford. 

Dobbies were contesting the refusal of planning permission for a garden centre on land lying to the southeast of York Designer Outlet in Fulford, but in a letter from the Planning Inspectorate today it was confirmed that the planning inquiry set for September was cancelled as the appeal had been withdrawn.  Read the rest of this entry.

The Council’s Executive have approved the submission of the 7 most popular proposals received under the Sustainable Communities Act. These proposals will now go to the Local Government Association who will collect submissions from local authorities and choose those to be sent to the government.

 The 7 proposals to go forward from York are:

1. Returning packaging to supermarkets
2. Retention of business rates locally
3. Re-regulation of buses
4. Generating energy via community renewable sources
5. Bringing commercial waste in to council recycling targets
6. Retaining council house income locally
7. Ensuring that all landfill tax and Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme penalties are returned to local authorities for investment in further recycling, reduction and reuse and repair.

You can find out more about the Sustainable Communities Act here

As promised in the latest edition of Focus I have added a page with more information on the suggestions made as part of the Sustainable Communities Act consultation.

Click here to visit the page or select the link on the left.

The Council consulted with residents on plans for the Fulford Road corridor, including cycling, bus and pedestrian improvements earlier this year. Along with local residents I objected to various parts of the scheme, including the fact that there were plans for a significant reduction in local parking, the removal of the two lane exit from Heslington Lane, and that in one location new cycle ways were planned both on and off road going in the same direction.

After these successful representations, the Council agreed to look again at the Main Street and Heslington Lane aspects of the scheme.  Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.