EDAW's Metcalfe Lane, Osbaldwick, which features a wide street and elongated village green

PRP Architects' design for New Osbaldwick, which would be grouped into four neighbourhoods

Four futuristic plans for a new village on York's outskirts were unveiled today - and immediately ran into trouble with residents of an old village nearby.

"New Osbaldwick", a joint venture between the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and City of York Council, is intended to do for housing in the 21st century what New Earswick did 100 years ago.

Four competing designs for the 53-acre greenfield site near Osbaldwick include innovative and modernistic features.

But Osbaldwick Parish Council expressed deep concern about the numbers of homes being proposed - between 480 and 540 - and the traffic impact, coming on top of the new B & Q store being built in the area.

It claimed that the city council stated in its own magazine last March that the council and foundation aimed to build "about 300 homes".

"They also stated in the same article: "Plans also include the possibility of removing the electricity pylons and high voltage power lines that currently run through the middle of the site,"" said Councillor Liz Wilson in a statement issued on behalf of the parish council.

"At no point was there any indication that if the pylons were removed, the number of houses built would be almost doubled."

But the city council's head of strategy and commissioning, Roy Wallington, said the new community would be designed to encourage residents to use public transport and bicycles rather than cars.

And he said the original figure of 300-350 homes related to what might be built with the power lines in place. If they were sent underground, the land could be developed.

David Wilson, of Tang Hall Residents Association, gave the proposals a broad welcome, saying the new village would bring new prosperity to Tang Hall, for example by boosting business at local shops.

Roland Crooke, director of housing operations at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said he was "very pleased" with the range of ideas produced.

He said the foundation had always expected there would be considerably more than 350 homes.

A panel of community, council and foundation representatives will meet on January 31 to consider which, if any, should be form the basis of the new village.

*The plans are on display until 9 pm tonight at St Hilda's Church hall in Tang Hall Lane, and the exhibition is at Heworth Without Community Centre in Stray Road tomorrow and on Saturday, from 10 am to 9pm, and at Osbaldwick Sports Club on Monday at the same times.

Village of the future on show

Welcome to the 21st Century.

Featured here are the four competing designs for the pioneering new model village on York's outskirts which city councillors and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation hope could be to the 21st century what New Earswick was to the 20th.

The schemes unveiled today range from the futuristic to the "organic". They incorporate the latest technology but all claim to put the needs of the local community first.

The four designs are as follows :

Aire Design's Osbaldwick Fields, a futuristic development of 530 homes centred around a high-density "home zone".

John Thompson and Partners' New Osbaldwick. An "organic" 432-home development, with homes built in "community clusters".

PRP Architects' design, also called New Osbaldwick. This would be a "natural community" of between 480 and 540 homes grouped into four neighbourhoods and built using the latest timber technologies.

EDAW'S Metcalfe Lane, Osbaldwick. This is described as a "vibrant community" of 525 new homes centred around a linear "wide street" and elongated village green.

The plans will be on show today at St Hilda's Church Hall, Tang Hall; at Heworth Community Hall, Stray Lane, tomorrow and Saturday; and at Osbaldwick Sports Centre on Monday.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.