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Dismay over sites for eco-town
10:10am Saturday 3rd May 2008
THE four potential sites for a new regional eco-town are all in the Selby district.
Consultants GVA Grimley were asked to come up with four possible locations for an eco-town - which would have between 5,000 and 20,000 homes - in the Leeds region which includes, Leeds, Selby, York and Harrogate.
But all four of their proposals are within the Selby district, causing bafflement and concern among political leaders.
The four potential sites are at Eggborough and Kellington, Gascoigne Wood near Sherburn-in-Elmet, Burn Airfield and Church Fenton.
Eggborough and Kellington was already on the original list, and had already sparked protests from local people.
Nigel Adams, the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Selby, said he was astounded and worried.
He said: "Selby district does not need a new town. The Government is using the eco-banner as a way of softening the impact but there's nothing eco-friendly about bulldozing green-field land and building thousands of homes. The Selby district does not need a large number of homes. The district is already building more homes than the Government asked it to.
"The local communities, especially around the villages mentioned, are going to be stunned and alarmed at the impact on the local environment."
The leader of Selby District Council, Mark Crane, said he was "gobsmacked" that all four potential sites were in the district.
He said he was not against the developments as such, provided the development was only around 5,000 homes, that other house-building targets were reduced, that the developments were sustainable, that they created local jobs and that they had the support of the local communities.
He has arranged a meeting with GVA Grimley on Thursday so they can explain how the results were obtained.
The Press tried to contact GVA Grimley, but no-one was available for comment.
Your Say YourPress
rnr321, selby says...
8:46pm Wed 7 May 08
Green my foot, build in Leeds where it would make a difference.
selby people, selby says...
4:05pm Sun 4 May 08
selby people, selby says...
4:05pm Sun 4 May 08
Stevie in Selby, Selby says...
1:26pm Sat 3 May 08
There is a car-free cycle route into Selby town centre, and it's only about 3 miles and flat, so it's an easy ride. There's already a half-hourly bus service running past the site on one side, and a mainline railway on the other. The A19 provides good, fast links to York and to the motorway network. It's an ideal site!
Bryter, YO62 says...
12:41pm Sat 3 May 08
selbywatch wrote:Blah blah blah...
Yet another case of a faceless agency, aided and abetted by a flawed Government green policy, dumping anything unsavoury on the Selby district.
No chance of any unsightly eco towns being supplanted on the affluent acres surrounding Harrogate, Wetherby, North Leeds or York then?
You can imagine the discussion at the consultants' office. "Can't have it impinging on house prices or affecting the lifestyles of the movers and shakers in golf land can we? No let's identify all four potential sites within a few miles around Selby. After all haven't the coal mines there just shut, so they've got plenty of sites. And they've got all those belching power stations so the folk there can't be too bothered about what's in the local environment. We'll tell them it's green and good and an antidote to Drax. And we've just built a new road to nowhere around it which will need to serve some purpose. Sounds ideal. So it's Selby then."
No wonder consultants GVA Grimley (what a brilliantly appropraite name) did not want to comment. And what of sitting and soon to be departed MP John Grogan? Standing up for Selby on this horrendous imposition John, or hiding behind the green credentials. We all want to be green and eco-friendly, but let's start spreading the responsibility evenly across the entire Leeds City Region, which includes the lush pastures of North Leeds/Wetherby/York, otherwise known as the untouchable golden triangle.
selbywatch, Selby says...
11:40am Sat 3 May 08
No chance of any unsightly eco towns being supplanted on the affluent acres surrounding Harrogate, Wetherby, North Leeds or York then?
You can imagine the discussion at the consultants' office. "Can't have it impinging on house prices or affecting the lifestyles of the movers and shakers in golf land can we? No let's identify all four potential sites within a few miles around Selby. After all haven't the coal mines there just shut, so they've got plenty of sites. And they've got all those belching power stations so the folk there can't be too bothered about what's in the local environment. We'll tell them it's green and good and an antidote to Drax. And we've just built a new road to nowhere around it which will need to serve some purpose. Sounds ideal. So it's Selby then."
No wonder consultants GVA Grimley (what a brilliantly appropraite name) did not want to comment. And what of sitting and soon to be departed MP John Grogan? Standing up for Selby on this horrendous imposition John, or hiding behind the green credentials. We all want to be green and eco-friendly, but let's start spreading the responsibility evenly across the entire Leeds City Region, which includes the lush pastures of North Leeds/Wetherby/York, otherwise known as the untouchable golden triangle.
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Nigel Adams: Selby does not need a new town
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rnr321, selby says...
8:53pm Wed 7 May 08
Green my foot, build in Leeds where it would make a difference.