THE owners of a former RAF base between York and Leeds have spoken out after Selby District Council abandoned controversial proposals for a new 'garden village.'

The authority said yesterday it would no longer go ahead with work to explore the possibility of the new settlement at the Church Fenton airfield, near Tadcaster, and wanted instead to concentrate its efforts on meeting shorter-term challenges in delivering new homes that people needed.

Parish councillors also said hundreds of local residents had packed a village hall to discuss the 'secret plans' for a 'monstrous’ new town of 40,000 homes on the site, now known as Leeds East Airport.

Site owners Makin Enterprises said today the Government was encouraging residential development on brownfield land and so the council had been right to explore all options. 

It said: "Leeds East Airport is a brownfield site that will play a major role in creating new economic opportunity in Selby. 

"Our long-term plans for the site as an airfield or other development will be aimed at creating new well paid jobs, creating more economic growth and creating new skills and life chances for young people in the area.

"With an ongoing investment programme in the airfield, the current future of the site is as a commercial airport. However, the high running costs of the site can only be met with new enterprise and new development. This should include the option of new homes for the area."

CEO Chris Makin said the authority's plans had been 'too big,' but the site could deliver new affordable homes whilst protecting the green belt.

"With investment, it is uniquely well connected to both road and rail," he said, adding that he would review the council's decision and wished to work with the local community to make the site a success.

The district council said yesterday: “We want to focus on ensuring we have a five-year land supply and our growth plans for the next decade.

“This will allow us to deliver housing now, rather than diverting efforts into looking at much longer-term opportunities. It’s been agreed, therefore, to no longer pursue this work.”

A spokesman said the Government had asked authorities to consider sites that could potentially be places for new garden villages, as part of a commitment to deliver homes people wanted and needed.

York Press:

“We worked with others to look at the potential of using the previously developed land at Church Fenton airfield to support this,” he said.

“We put together an initial expression of interest which, if supported by the government, would have been the starting point for a conversation with people about the proposals.”

The announcement came after Church Fenton Parish Council said Freedom of Information requests had brought to light secret plans for a ‘monstrous’ new town.

It said hundreds of local residents packed a village hall to overflowing to discuss the plans to ‘develop a huge urban sprawl covering a staggering 1520ha, obliterating the whole area stretching from Barkston Ash to Selby.’

It claimed: “This is roughly the total number of houses in the whole of Selby district now, about the size of Harrogate, thereby doubling the population of the district and urbanising a vast swathe of our countryside and farmland.”

It also claimed the plan had been devised and submitted in total secrecy.