VILLAGE action groups from across York have joined forces to fight what they see as over-development in the city's draft local plan.

Ten groups from villages including Copmanthorpe, Dunnington, Earswick, Elvington, Haxby, Naburn, Rufforth, Wheldrake, Wigginton and Woodthorpe have pledged to form an action group alliance to jointly oppose proposals in City of York's local plan to build thousands of new homes on greenbelt land.

Allan Charlesworth, action group spokesman for "Keep Earswick Rural", said: “We want to keep the City of York special and that includes the rural setting that forms part of its character and attractiveness.

"All of the action groups have strong support from their communities for protection of the greenbelt, harbour major concerns about over-provision of sites, and consider the quantity of houses proposed for each site is excessive”.

Each of the individual action groups submitted comments on the plans during the public consultation period in the summer, and the new alliance is being formed as the next phase public consultation, expected to begin sometime this month.

Now alliance campaigners are getting ready to make individual representations in the next consultation, on behalf of their respective parishes, and they will jointly contest the methodology used preparing the local plan, the overall quantity of new homes proposed and need to develop high numbers of houses on greenbelt land.

John Gallery, a spokesman for "Keep Elvington Rural", said: "Residents are very concerned about potential over-development. The further sites proposed are disproportionate.

"They unnecessarily remove land from the greenbelt and will result in the loss of the rural aspects of the City. We want City of York Council to think again about its plan before it is too late, because once these sites are gone they will never return to rural use and we risk urban sprawl.”

Cllr Dave Merrett, the council’s cabinet member for planning, said developing greenfield sites alone could not meet even conservative estimates of York’s housing need, while council spokesmen have said that all responses to the earlier local plan consultations were considered in producing the most recent draft plan.