EXPERTS fear for a unique wildlife haven on the edge of York, if building plans being considered in the city’s Local Plan come to fruition.

A fresh draft of the long-term development plan was published earlier this summer and is currently open to public comments but naturalists have revealed concerns about what the biggest site could mean for one of the area’s most important beauty spots.

Heslington Tillmire is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and renowned for giving a home to declining species of ground-nesting birds such as curlew and lapwing - both of which are vulnerable to disturbance by people and their dogs. A spokesman for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said that without buffer zones to protect Tillmire, and alternative places for dog walking, the impact from a major new housing proposal so close by could be “catastrophic” for the wildlife rich place.

The Tillmire is close to a site labelled ST34 - a patch of open land west of Elvington Lane and close to the airfield. It is earmarked for 1,610 new homes by 2032, and another 1,700 in the years after eventually creating a brand new garden village.

The site has replaced a previous 5,000 home scheme known as Whinthorpe and, although the new plan is further away from the Tillmire, but there appear to be fewer places to fit in the mitigation YWT would want to see to protect the Tillmire.

In addition, it is closer to Elvington airfield grasslands - themselves a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).

The YWT’s spokesman said: “Elvington Airfield SINC is wonderful for wildlife, comprising a mixture of grassland, fen, and seasonal pools supporting rare plant species such as adder’s tongue fern and twayblade, a type of orchid. Also, it is home to threatened insects and birds such as little ringed plover, snipe and an exceptional population of skylarks.”

She added: “The Elvington Airfield grassland also forms part of a more or less continuous block of open, permanent grassland that stretches for 8.5kms into York and the importance of this to local wildlife has been widely recognised.”

It, like Tillmire, will come under pressure from people at the new garden village using it for recreation, and could be “irreversibly damaged”, they have warned.

The latest Local Plan draft was published in June, setting out where 8,000 new homes should be built around York and where land should be putt aside for businesses over the next 16 years.

A public consultation began last week and will run into September, with a series of open events already underway. Details are available at www.york.gov.uk/localplan.