Developers make concessions over controverial scheme

11:35am Tuesday 27th June 2006

By Mike Laycock

THE charity behind a controversial York housing scheme has offered key concessions in a bid to address planners' concerns.

It has released this picture to illustrate how the project would lead to the creation of a "village green" for the benefit of local residents.

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution (RMBI) wants to build sheltered accommodation, extend an elderly mentally frail unit, and construct more than 50 houses as part of the Connaught Court development, in Fulford.

The Press reported last week how officers were urging the planning committee, which meets this afternoon, to turn down the scheme because it would provide no affordable housing, lead to the loss of protected trees and provide "inadequate" levels of children's play space. Officers also said a replacement bowling green would not be of a "commensurate standard" to the existing green.

The RMBI now says it will "reluctantly" provide 25 per cent affordable housing. It said it had also upgraded the bowling green so it would now meet English Bowling Association standards and increased the size of children's play areas. The charity has previously argued that including affordable housing in the scheme would simply reduce the funds available to provide care for the frail elderly and help meet a pressing social need.

But Andrew White, director of properties, said today that the charity took a "conciliatory view" on the issue, saying: "We reluctantly accept that, even though as a charity we are providing a vital social service at Connaught Court, we are required by the council to include an element of affordable housing in the scheme."

He said the picture showed how an area of the site fronting on to Main Street would be transformed into a public space "like a village green", which would be permanently safeguarded from development and open to the public.

"The picture shows just what a positive contribution the gifting of the front of the site to the people of Fulford could make to the community, if our scheme gets the go-ahead."

He added: "We have demonstrated how only two significant trees, of the 100 or so trees on the site, will be lost.

"These will be replaced in a planting programme which will see more than 50 new trees added to the area."

"This reflects the way that developers tend to say they have done everything they can, and then, when told it's not good enough, all of a sudden they bring something out of the hat," he said.

He said he understood the application was set to be deffered at today's meeting.