A MAJOR housing plan that could transform one of York's biggest brownfield sites has come under fire from locals worried that developers are ignoring their views.

The British Sugar site in the north west of York has been empty since the sugar beet processing site closed down in 2006, and an outline planning application for 1,100 homes was welcomed as holding huge potential for the city when it was submitted last December.

The application - and a duplicate application made in March - are currently under consideration by City of York Council planners.

Neighbours and ward councillors say that despite public meetings with the developers, they feel many of their legitimate worries have been ignored by those drawing up the plans.

Cllr Stuart Barnes, who represents the Acomb ward which takes in much of the site, said they could not see any evidence that their concerns had been taken into account, and people were particularly worried there was no commitment to affordable housing as yet.

"We hear endlessly from people who are worried they or their children can't get onto the housing ladder, or can't even afford to rent privately," he said.

Many neighbours around Plantation Drive and Langholme, off Boroughbridge Road, were worried about plans to get rid of an earth bank which screened the old factory site from the houses, he added.

Congestion along the busy Boroughbridge Road was also a concern, while Rural West York councillors Ian Gillies and Chris Steward have voiced concerns the impact on nearby Millfield Lane.

A spokesman for Rapleys planning consultancy, employed by British Sugar, said it was committed to working with the local community and elected representatives in bringing forward the scheme, which was a unique brownfield redevelopment opportunity in a sustainable location would provide much needed new housing for the City of York.

He also said British Sugar was currently in discussions with York council officers to determine the amount of affordable housing that could viably be provided at the site.

British Sugar had also been clear from the outset that the bund might need to be removed and the current masterplan showed that longer garden depths and replacement landscaping would be provided to ensure good levels of residential amenity and new opportunities for ecology and biodiversity were established.

The company would be contributing funds for improvements to the surrounding highways network and public transport infrastructure including the potential diversion of existing bus routes to serve the new development, to reduce the impact of the development on the surrounding highway network as far as possible.