2007-10-15

15th October 2007

MINUTES OF ESCRICK PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 15TH OCTOBER 2007 AT ESCRICK & DEIGHTON SOCIAL CLUB

Present:
Mr Steve Smowton (chair)
Mr Mike Russell
Mr Charles Forbes Adam
Mr John Reader
Mr Peter Skilbeck
Mrs Gina Mannix
Mrs Liz Casling (North Yorkshire County Councillor and Selby District councillor)

Apologies:
Mr Brian Forster
Mr Ian Reynolds
Mrs Carole Wainwright
Mr Bill Reader

The Chair welcomed the 30 plus members of the public who attended the meeting and explained this meeting was an additional Escrick Parish Council meeting which was being held after the article was published in October's Parish Magazine about a proposed by-pass at Escrick.

PROPOSAL FOR A BY-PASS AT ESCRICK

The chair requested that any Councillors who have an interest in the proposal to state this.

Mr Charles Forbes Adam said he had a prejudicial interest.

Mr Peter Skilbeck said he had a personal and prejudicial interest

Mrs Liz Casling said she had a personal interest as the proposal would affect her parent's home.

The chair declared the meeting open.

The chair told the meeting that the Parish Council had no notification of this proposal before it was published in the Parish magazine and the exhibition which had been held the previous Friday and Saturday. He stressed that if local opinion objected to this proposal it was not likely that it would be approved by SDC.

There were two possible routes put forward at the consultation; an inside plan of a 38 acre development and the outer plan of 75 acres. Some of this would be for residential development and possibly some community elements but no industry or business parks. According to the planning consultant when approached by the chair at the consulation, on the smaller plan an estimated 275 homes would be built and on the outer plan approximately 520 homes to be built. There are currently approximately 350 houses in the village.

This road will be privately funded by the landowners along the route and the cost of this has been estimated at approximately between £5 - 6 million and a substantial development would be needed to pay for this. This proposed road would be around the west side of the village behind the Parsonage Hotel either to the east or west of Glebe Cottage and Glebe Farm and the road will leave the A19 approximately at the Stillingfleet road junction and will return again to the A19 somewhere between York Road garage and Deighton.

Mrs Casling reported that there are no details published regarding the exact number of houses as the route is indicative only, making it difficult on the information available to the residents and the Parish council to determine whether to support the proposal or not.

She said the proposal in planning and highway terms is not for a by-pass. The definition of a by-pass is to take traffic away from a village without attendant housing. She said the proposal is an extension to the village of unknown proportions and therefore unknown consequences. In conversation with North Yorkshire County Council Highways she had received an estimate cost of £3-6 million to build this road and if the road were to have a roundabout at either end then another £1.5 - 2 million would be required. They also told her that it would be a unique PFI scheme as normally PFI funding is used to improve junctions etc after a development or in response to strategic plans. She estimates that the housing required to offset this cost is unknown and figures of up to 750 properties had been mentioned. They would have to have 40% of affordable housing and the people eligible for these houses would be district wide and not just local. An affordable housing survey conducted approximately five years ago identified a local need in terms of low cost housing to be six to eight dwellings. She had been informed that in planning context it is against "current emerging and future planning policy" in the preparation of the Local Development Framework for this scheme to be successful, the developers would have to show exceptional circumstances (that is enormous local public support) and present a unique opportunity for the district.

The Regional Spatial Strategy has just been passed by the government minister and each district is allowed at a regional level to build a certain amount of houses per year. This has recently been increased in Selby to 440 which reflects the growth that Selby is undergoing. These houses are to be built around Selby town itself in such areas as Olympia Park. Such areas have the necessary infrastructure already in place. She was told that it would be remarkable for a village to suddenly be brought forward as a focus point for large development that was never even on the "horizon" before. It is government policy to use brownfield sites prior to looking elsewhere for building and the available land already acknowledged at Gascoigne Wood and Sherburn in Elmet. The definition of green belt is "the strongest possible device to resist development around conurbations".

She stated that in consideration of this proposal other aspects need to be thought through by the village. There are education impacts not only on the school but also on the village catchment area. The proposal could potentially bring benefits to the school in terms of investment but would a larger cohort of children from Escrick still be admitted to Fulford School?

As the Parish council has a long held opinion on the development of the mine sites this proposal would make any argument for their development into industrial units more acceptable. The traffic along the A19 was set to increase with Riccall mine site earmarked for such development and Escrick Business Park. Selby District Council Employment Land Study highlighted the A19 corridor as a possible future area for development for employment not housing purposes. With the two industrial sites mentioned and Olympia Park the A19 has absorbed all it can in terms of traffic.

The chair read letters from residents unable to attend the meeting, none of which were in support of the proposal.

Their concerns were about the increase in traffic; the junctions onto the A19; the effect on the local school, sewage facilities and the surgery/medical needs; and the village roads being used as a "rat-run" to avoid congestion along the A19. Mr Bill Reader wrote that much of the proposed site would be in the flood plain. He also wrote that in the 50 years he has been a Parish Councillor Escrick have tenaciously resisted any development to the west. He states that the Parish Council strenuously objected to the surgery being placed where it is because of the foreseen difficulty in crossing the A19. All that is needed is for North Yorkshire County Council (possibly with the help of public spirited benefactors) to provide a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights near the church lychgate.

A member of the public asked that this proposal should not be known as a by-pass as Mrs Casling had told the meeting that in planning terms this was not one and it should be called a major village extension.

The majority of concerns made by the public at the meeting were about increased traffic; gaining access to the proposed new road; increased traffic through the village; concerns about the number of affordable homes; other villages in the area who had increased in size had a detrimental affect and not positive. The majority did not want the nature and character of Escrick to be spoilt.

Mr Charles Forbes Adam said over the past forty years the village had quadrupled in size. House building schemes have been developed and the village had in fact benefited with this increase and amenities were beneficial to the residents.

The Parish Council are going to conduct a survey of every resident and local organisation on their views and it was requested at the meeting that this questionnaire inform them of the exact figures of houses to be built. They would like a separate section on what improvements they would like along the A19. The chair said the Parish Council would try and get the best information they can give in this questionnaire as the local community's opinion is paramount.

Mr Charles Forbes Adam welcomed the expertise that had come from the floor and he will get a better accurate costing before the questionnaire is sent out.

The chair thanked the public for their interest and the meeting was declared closed.

ACCOUNTS are in credit
A/c No 1: £5,745.70
A/c No 2: £3,304.77
A/c No 3: £34.50

Selby District Council's second instalment of this year's precept has been received since the agenda was published and account number 1 has an additional £4,500.00.

It was agreed to pay:
Escrick & Deighton Social Club £20.00
Mrs V Cumberland telephone £8.45
Ebuyer (computer) £414.51
Dean Landscapes £384.23
Hydron (anti graffiti paint) £86.45

INCIDENT ON VILLAGE GREEN
An incident was reported which took place in early October. A couple were spotted taking pictures from their car of a resident with her young granddaughter on the village green. She went to challenge them and they drove away up Carrs Meadow; when they realised it was a dead end they came back down the road at high speed, clearly intent on not being stopped. The resident obtained the number plate and reported it to the police who have traced the car to the York area.
The chair has informed the school and will also inform the pre-school playgroup, Queen Margarets and place a notice in the magazine.

The following matters are to be on next month's agenda:
MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (10 September 2007)
MATTERS ARISING
THE HEDGES AROUND THE VILLAGE
QUOTE FROM DEANS
THE DUCK SIGN
ANTI GRAFFITI
REQUEST FOR A BOLLARD AT CARRS MEADOW ENTRANCE
POST OFFICE ROW - THISTLES
LITTER ON THE A19 - BP GARAGE TO ESCRICK BOUNDARY
WEEDS ON THE PAVEMENTS AND ROADS
REQUEST FOR PAVEMENT ON SKIPWITH ROAD
CODE OF CONDUCT

DATE OF NEXT MEETING Monday 19th November 2007 at 7.30pm