MORE rifts emerged in York councils’ ruling executive tonight, as top councillors pushed on with the city’s Local Plan in the aftermath of a row which saw two members leave senior posts.

The joint Conservative and Lib Dem executive met this evening to discuss the major housing development plan for York, but the depleted committee was without Conservative Cllr Stuart Rawlings who was sacked on Monday and Cllr Sam Lisle who resigned soon afterwards.

Richard France and Richard Wood, developers' agents who between them promote three major sites planned as new “garden villages” near Elvington, Osbaldwick and Cliftongate off Wigginton Road, told the executive members that unless their sites were expanded they would be “undeliverable”.

They also said that unless the sites grew in size, the chance of key infrastructure improvements like new schools and better transport would be lost to the city; and further warned government could find York’s plan “unsound” and impose another one on the city.

A third developer, Martin Hawthorne, asked why the Galtres Garden Village proposal was being ignored when it was offering the council hundreds of affordable homes, and promising to create a “sustainable community” and a new country park.

The meeting saw fellow Conservative Cllr Ian Gillies disagree with Local Plan proposals, and ask for more time to consider the grave warnings from developers.

Cllr Gillies said they had heard “clear warnings” that the plan may not be approved by government in its current form, and added: “I cannot support this plan.”

His executive colleagues disagreed, voting through the existing plan without any changes, while Lib Dem member Cllr Ann Reid said the planned housing numbers had already increased to more than 1,000 a year, once “windfalls” and other numbers were accounted for.

Earlier today the executive and council leader David Carr became embroiled in a row over resignations, and allegations of misleading the public.

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It emerged that Cllr Carr had dismissed Cllr Stuart Rawlings from the executive on Monday, over a potential conflict of interest on the Local Plan, but had issued a public statement claiming Cllr Rawlings had “stepped down for personal reasons”.

A second executive member, Cllr Sam Lisle, then resigned within hours citing “irreconcilable differences with the leader”.