A HUGE redevelopment on old railway land in York cannot ignore local worries about health and heritage, campaigners have said.

The York Central site - which encompasses 72 acres of brownfield land and could be source of hundreds of new homes and jobs - must respect things like the heritage of the area, a healthy environment, transport and jobs.

York Central Action Group held an open conference about the site, and these concerns were some of the most significant raised by neighbours and campaigners.

Organiser Laura Outhart said the event was a huge success, and saw around 60 people including residents and politicians, get together to talk about their hopes and fears for the site.

She said people at the meeting unanimously agreed Holgate Road was a “completely inappropriate” site for a vital access road, because of congestion, pollution, the loss of green space and the impact on the neighbourhood.

Instead, they want City of York Council to redraw its plans for the road.

They also spoke of an urgent need for “community vision” for the whole development, setting out priorities for things like jobs, transport, public health, employment and training, environmental limits and open space.

The organisers said it was important to have that blueprint to make sure the needs and hopes of the people who will be most affected by the development are not forgotten.

Finally, Laura said they wanted to push the council to make sure important considerations like people’s health, and respecting the heritage of the area, are considered right from the start and not tacked on to the end of the process “as an afterthought”.

With a formal report about the conference now being drawn up, she said they hoped to meet with project managers at the council to talk about their ideas.

A council spokesman said the group’s views were very welcome.

“We are working jointly with Network Rail, the Homes and Community Agency and the National Railway Museum to deliver York Central,” they added.

“York Central Partners values all comments from the local community and that’s why the council supported the conference with a contribution from ward budgets.

“We will continue to listen to feedback throughout the whole of the development process.”