The Government's planning bill blueprint - ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful’ - lures us into believing that, at long last, the deep unhappiness of ugly luxury apartments and student blocks has been understood and housing need will be met.

Then you turn the cover to discover how this ‘Developer’s charter’ will shatter that dream.

Housing developers are jumping for joy as they can by-pass the current levels of consultation and scrutiny, weak though they are, and build the homes of their choice. Local communities, already struggling to be heard, will be ignored. The architectural sensitivities vanish. And local people’s housing needs will remain unmet.

Across the political spectrum there is uproar as Labour have called for a vote on Government proposals this week. Many from the Government benches are considering rebelling. Developers are rubbing their hands together as their profits soar; after all the Conservative Party received £11 million in donations from developers in Boris Johnson’s first year as Prime Minister and £891,000 from developers in the first three months of 2021 alone.

It was only a year ago that the High Court quashed Richard Desmond’s Westferry housing development plans, after these were rushed through Whitehall approval mechanisms in just one day by the Secretary of State in order to avoid paying the £43m Community Infrastructure Levy. Desmond and the Secretary of State had sat together at a dinner where the development had been discussed; the Conservative Party received a donation of £12,000 from Mr. Desmond two weeks after Government gave him the green light.

York is an architecturally stunning city. It is why over eight million people from across the world come to wind their way through Medieval streets then stand before York Minister in awe. Our archaeology is rich and sensitive and must be respected.

It is also the pride of our city that beyond the walls, York’s housing, inspired by the Rowntree family to address poverty and inequality, set the blueprint for social housing across the UK, paving the way for Parliament’s 1919 Housing Act. Well-proportioned family homes, with gardens, first in New Earswick, then Tang Hall.

Today, York is once again a city where poverty suppresses the dreams of many, and we are faced with a housing crisis.

York’s low waged economy is meeting extortionate house prices, and this is set to take a far more damaging turn as the York Central development lands.

The Government’s Developer’s Charter will fast track the soulless, identikit development of luxury apartments no-one from York can afford. This will simply drive local house prices up. Although new these properties will count towards the council’s housing targets, they are not the homes local families urgently need. Instead, these flats are destined for investors - and as we are seeing through other new developments, many will turn straight into holiday apartments, Airbnbs or second homes.

There is nothing ‘beautiful’ about this, when local families are living in damp, overcrowded homes.Worse still, by pushing families out and cramming more hotels and holiday lets in, this type of development threatens to further establish York as a party town for revelling stags and hens, at a time when the city centre is already considered a no-go zone by many local families at weekends. As developers line their pockets, our streets will become increasingly lined with vomit, fighting and rowdy people.

Contrast this with Labour’s vision of wanting to meet housing need with good quality homes, with gardens. We want a family friendly city, with facilities for children to play and for local people to enjoy a good day out – shopping and relaxing. A city for everyone.

We want York Central to focus on jobs that lift York’s low wages to give everyone a hope of a better, fairer future - and instead of more cars congesting our streets, cleaner air and better public transport, cycling and walking.

The Green/LibDem council have failed you by handing over your money and decision making on York Central to their partners; the Conservative Government are now passing plans to ignore you.

I am wanting to amend this planning legislation, so it is community led, so local people have a real say, and their housing needs are addressed.

York Central could be the greatest thing that has happened to our city for a century. But it has to change direction, or our worst nightmare will be realised.