Park&Ride plan moving forward (From York Press)

Poppleton Bar Park&Ride plan moving forward

7:46am Thursday 13th September 2012 in News By Mark Stead, Political Reporter

PLANS to use a slice of land designated as a village green as part of a new Park&Ride site on the edge of York could be approved next week.

City of York Council has already secured planning permission for the 1,250-space site at Poppleton Bar to be built as part of its £22 million Access York scheme, which is designed to combat the city’s congestion problems.

It has now lodged a further application involving changes to the layout of the development so junction improvements can be carried out where the A59 meets the outer ring road, using part of a section of farmland registered as a village green 45 years ago.

The authority’s planning officers have recommended the amendments for approval and its planning committee will discuss the issues next Thursday.

The council has said about two per cent of the total village green area would be needed for the junction scheme, and the loss of the land would be compensated for elsewhere on the site by the creation of a “community facility”.

Upper Poppleton Parish Council has objected to the proposed alterations, claiming the junction layout will not work and will create traffic problems in the village and on the A59.

Work on the Poppleton Park&Ride site – which will also include a 14.5-metre wind turbine and a pedestrian and cycle underpass – is earmarked to start early next year.

It will be built in two phases, with 600 spaces in the first stage and 650 more being added later.

A report by development management officer Erik Matthews said the junction improvements would cut journey times by more than ten minutes in the morning rush-hour and almost four minutes in the evening period.

He said: “The proposal has been subject to a detailed traffic assessment which clearly demonstrates it would lead to significant reductions in queueing along the A59 and surrounding roads, and, as a consequence, deter rat-running through Upper Poppleton.”

Mr Matthews also said the new Park&Ride service would help to reduce car-related pollution in the city centre and the development’s design would have a “minimal impact” on the surrounding green belt.

As well as the Poppleton scheme, Access York will see a larger Park&Ride site being built at Askham Bar, replacing the existing facility.