THE Government has decided NOT to take over York's long-delayed Local Plan from the city council.

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said today that Communities Secretary Sajid Javid had written to his office to confirm he would not be intervening in City of York Council's efforts to come up with a Plan to guide where homes and businesses can be built over the next 15 years.

Mr Sturdy was speaking while chatting to residents at a drop-in meeting organised in Haxby about the authority''s current draft Plan.

Mr Javid said in November he was concerned about 15 local authorities - including York - which still did not have a plan in place.

York was given until the end of January to justify its failure to produce a plan so far, and put forward any exceptional circumstances.

In a speech in Bristol, the minister said then: “Whilst some councils are recognising their responsibilities and stepping up to meet the housing challenge, too many are still not acting.”

A written ministerial statement added that authorities which were not making enough progress were “on notice” that consistent failure would not be tolerated.

York council's Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders pointed then to delays caused by the announcement of barracks closures in York, and insisted they were on course to deliver a sound plan by May.

But York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell said ruling councillors had neglected serious problems like economic development, infrastructure and congestion, and there was an urgent need to deliver a Plan for York that brought genuinely affordable homes for residents.

Mr Sturdy told The Press today that he understood the Minister had accepted that York had had to delay its Plan to give due consideration to the allocation of land for housing at Imphal Barracks in Fulford Road and Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Strensall, following the Government decision to close the sites down in 2031 and 2021 respectively.

It is believed that the Minister has decided to intervene in only three out of the 15 he raised concerns about last autumn.

York council leader Ian Gillies confirmed this afternoon that he had received a letter from Mr Javid and spoken yesterday to a senior civil servant about the contents.

He said the civil servant had confirmed that the Government was 'happy to work with us' on the Plan, and the authority, which was currently out to consultation on its final draft of the Plan, was on schedule to submit it by May.

At today's drop-in session at Haxby Memorial Hall, dozens of residents raised concerns with Mr Sturdy about the number of extra homes which are set to be built under the draft Plan, not only on land near Haxby, but also at other proposed development sites to the north of York including land near Monks Cross, Wigginton and the Strensall barracks site.

Residents Jayne Grainger, Mary Crawford and Christine Nellis said they were worried about already serious traffic problems being exacerbated, and about the ability of the drains to cope.

Mr Sturdy said huge concerns were raised with him about traffic and about the ability of the infrastructure, such as the sewerage and drainage system, and schools, to cope with so many additional residents, and he would pass all these in in his submission to the council about the Plan.