Residents 'should be prepared to take direct action' as lack of planning enforcement staff revealed

Cllr Mark Warters said City of York Council's lack of enforcement staff came at the worst possible time, when a series of housing and other building schemes were coming on stream.

He claimed residents in areas which were facing major building projects, such as Fulford, should be prepared to take direct action to enforce conditions because the authority wouldn't do it for them.

He suggested they would have to follow the example set by Peter Precious who, as The Press reported, has resorted to blocking Fifth Avenue with his van to stop lorries allegedly delivering materials to the Derwenthorpe development site before 8am, in contravention of a planning condition.

Cllr Warters said there had been no enforcement action over the four years since construction of Derwenthorpe started, despite a number of breaches of conditions.

He said the council had originally had three planning officials dedicated to enforcing conditions across York but one had left and had not yet been replaced and another had gone on long term sick.

A council spokeswoman strongly refuted the councillor's claims, saying: "It is wrong to say there is no enforcement to ensure compliance with planning conditions across the city.

"In terms of staffing levels, a short term appointment will commence this month and we are in the recruitment processes for the vacant temporary post."

Asked whether it was correct there had been no enforcement action over Derwenthorpe breaches, she confirmed no formal notices had been served.

"To date, the concerns have been resolved without the need for formal action," she said. "If such action was shown to be necessary, the council would of course pursue it."

She said the council had been checking/monitoring the hours of construction and would continue to do so.

"If Cllr Warters or any residents are aware of any specific instances then the council is happy to look into these complaints further," she added.