CAMPAIGNERS against 70 new homes being built on fields used by a number of sports teams have highlighted the distance between the current site and alternative pitches - by walking between the two.

Around 60 people who live in Windmill Lane, York, walked an hour and 15 minutes between the York St John-owned playing fields to the university’s site in Haxby Road.

 

York Press:

Residents have used a Health England study, which says any alternative green space should be no more than a 15 minutes walk away, to highlight how far away they are from other green spaces.

They maintain it will take anyone using the alternative pitches in Haxby around an hour or longer to cover the distance on foot - and set out to prove this on Saturday.

Yvonne Kilgallon, a resident on Windmill Lane, said: “It showed this is not an alternative open space for the community at all.

“I would defy anyone to play a game of football after walking there for an hour.”

City of York Council’s Planning Committee has already deferred a decision on the homes after they were recommended for approval by officers, but campaigners are eager to do all they can to show their opposition.

The walkers were joined by all candidates for City of York Council’s Hull Road ward and York Central parliamentary candidates, including Labour’s Rachael Maskell, the Conservative’s Ed Young and Nick Love, of the Liberal Democrats.

Ms Kilgallon added: “They all said they support what we are doing and I made sure I spoke to them and made them aware this is not a viable option.

“They all said they will give us their support, which is fantastic.”

Campaigners have also gathered around 1,300 signatures against the development.

They have handed in the petition to City of York Council and called on the authority “to honour its promise to ensure valued community facilities are protected” and ensure the council designate the land as Local Green Space.