HOUSING targets which could see 22,000 homes built across York by 2030 through plans for the city’s future development have gone too far and could have unforeseen consequences, conservationists have claimed.

York Civic Trust said City of York Council’s draft Local Plan, which envisages building at least 1,090 new homes a year – many on green belt land – has overcompensated for insufficient housing being included in the authority’s previous planning blueprint, which was eventually scrapped.

Responding to a public consultation on the plan, which has now ended, the Trust said there was “much to commend” in the proposals, saying it believed new developments would “respect the city’s special character” and there should not be a blanket policy preventing green spaces being developed. However, it said the council’s job-growth predictions “seem overly optimistic”, and has criticised 29 potential windfarm sites.

Meanwhile, the council’s Conservative group has called the plan “deeply flawed and ultimately unacceptable” in its submission to the consultation, saying the idea that York needed “hyper-growth” for economic success was not backed up by official data, and York’s unique character is in danger of being wrecked by large housing developments.

The party said windfarms would be an assault on views of York Minster from the countryside.

In its representation to the council, the Trust said: “When commenting on the previous LDF (Local Development Framework), abandoned last year following a Government inspector’s criticisms, the Trust was not convinced the housing and job targets were sufficient for sustainable growth.

“The new proposed targets swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction and are, in our view, an unsustainable aspiration which could have unforeseen consequences.”

The Conservatives’ response said the council could not explain how it could meet its homes targets, and provide affordable housing, based on the city’s recent construction rates. It said: “These flaws are magnified by the proposed creation of two new townships on green belt land, brownfield development downgraded in favour of overdevelopment in the green belt, proposed windfarms circling the city centre and the proposal to create a divisive number of gipsy and traveller sites beyond that required by national guidelines.

“None of these proposals respect the unique character of York and seek to make it just another identikit metro-region.”