A MAJOR housing development in Selby will benefit from £11million funding from the Government.

The Olympia Park development, at the former Barlby Road BOCM Pauls site, will eventually see more than 800 new homes built, along with shops, restaurants and road improvements, along with plans for a link road, a care home, football pitches, allotments, cycle lanes, and a new school and neighbourhood centre.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty, today announced a loan of £3.46m had been agreed by the Government, which would go towards developing the site, along with an £8 million grant which will go towards improving the roads and infrastructure around the district.

Mr Adams said: "This level of Government assistance is unprecedented in our area, and will kickstart what is a much needed rejuvenation of the gateway to Selby which has been an eyesore for decades.

"Not only will it provide hundreds if not thousands of jobs which will provide even more security for families as our economy recovers, but it will significantly lift the image and approach to our town. I am certainly celebrating this news, and I would like to think the people of Selby recognise this significant investment."

Land at the Olympia Park site was put on the market in May, but the development has caused controversy since the first planning application was entered in 2012.

The original plans suggested the development could cost £300million and would create 985 new homes, but this figure was later revised by developers and reduced to 844 homes.

Under the latest plans, developers BOCM Pauls Ltd said they would review the size of the site at regular intervals and after the first 300 homes were built, and planning permission was granted in January.

Mr Adams welcomed the announcement that up to £11m will be invested in the scheme by the Government, with the first £2.4m expected by 2016, and said the money would ensure new housing, new business opportunities, and a new image" for Selby.

He said: "The decision to support the proposal is a huge vote of confidence in Selby as a town and also of everybody who lives in Selby.

"There are people who seem to delight in talking Selby and the surrounding area down, this decision shows what can be achieved when we take a positive approach and argue the best possible case for Selby and its future."