THE massive York Central development has been blasted by a leading conservation watchdog.

York Civic Trust claims the scheme for up to 2,500 homes and 87,000 square metres of commercial space behind the railway station is a once-in-a-century opportunity which has been lost.

It says it recognises the constraints of the site and the funding environment but adds: “We remain convinced that York and its citizens deserve a more ambitious, distinctive and sustainable scheme than is currently on offer.”

The trust claims in a formal objection to a planning application by the York Central Partnership that the scheme has ‘no clear vision’ and its reliance on car access and parking and large rectangular residential and commercial units is ‘uninspiring.’ It argues that the proposed spine road through the site, freely accessible to all through and internally generated traffic and exiting through the Leeman Road tunnel, is simply not sustainable.

It also says the absence of any new schools in the development is ‘deeply concerning’ and the proposed financial contribution to schools off the site is ‘wholly unacceptable.’ It claims there is insufficient capacity at nearby primary schools such as St Barnabas, St Paul’s CoE and Poppleton Road to accommodate York Central children and there could be more households in York Central than in Copmanthorpe, Bishopthorpe, Poppleton or Dunnington, all of which have their own primary schools.

The trust also claims the scheme is a substantial overdevelopment and it takes issue with the scale of the proposed massing of the new buildings, saying six storey residential units are ‘not of an intricate human scale, not common to York’s historic development and townscape.’ It also attacks the reliance on two existing pedestrian links into the city centre, the Leeman Road tunnel and the station footbridge, saying: “It is inconceivable to us that these two pedestrian routes are capable of providing the quality, safety or even quantity of pedestrian access required.

“Station managers have continually discouraged non-rail user use of the station footbridge and it does not meet the most basic disability access standards.

“Leeman Road pedestrian tunnel, even after some titivation, will always be a very poor quality main entrance route to a new city centre quarter.”

It argues that York Central would continue to act as a corridor into the city centre for motorists approaching on the A59 and A19. “The applicants should be made to adopt a set of measures for York Central to mitigate the predicted increase in car traffic through and generated by York Central.”

The trust also complains about the application documentation, which ran to several thousand pages, with 86,000 words in the design and access statement alone - ‘the same length as George Orwell’s 1984’, and it claims true democratic consultation is being sorely compromised, and claims it should not have been accepted in such a form.

The York Central Partnership said it welcomed all contributions as part of the statutory planning process - and the opportunity to clarify matters in the Civic Trust’s submission.

It said the plan had been developed through extensive, long-term engagement and consultation with local communities and groups, including the trust, to deliver a ‘robust, focused and sustainable’ proposal with appropriate development.

“It is an imaginative, progressive and sustainable scheme to deliver the once in a lifetime opportunity presented by York Central, which seeks to exceed the emerging Local Plan policy on sustainability,” it said.

“The decision not to include a school was taken following discussions with the Local Education Authority, which indicated there is sufficient capacity in the local area and therefore there is no requirement for a school on the York Central site.”

The proposals also included significant improvements to pedestrian and cycle routes between the site, city centre and surrounding communities.

It said the application was seeking outline permission for an indicative masterplan, which would not determine the size, shape and design of final buildings, which would be dealt with in future applications.

It added that when preparing an application for a site of this size and complexity, it was essential to provide the planning authority with all the details needed to make an informed decision.

Two other organisations have also criticised the scheme.

York Central Action, a campaign group of residents and professionals, said it supported the application in principle but was opposed to some aspects.  It did not feel that the masterplan provided and promoted cycle and pedestrian movement, protected the amenity of local residents during access road construction and questioned the degree of affordable housing being proposed.

 York Cycle Campaign claimed it would add to the burden of an already overloaded traffic network and said it was ‘dismayed’ there wasn’t more investment into more sustainable means of travel.

“Cycle paths cost a small fraction compared to roads, but currently there is only one segregated cycle path planned for the site,” it claimed.

It said it was also concerned by the plans for ‘shared space’ between cyclists and pedestrians, which went directly against advice from the Department for Transport and was likely to significantly disadvantage disabled people.