A select group of local people were today getting the first glimpse of plans for a £25 million 'model village' on the outskirts of York.

Over the last few months, four rival teams of architects and designers have been racing to complete designs for the community of 300-plus homes the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and City of York Council want to build on 53 acres of greenfield land beside Osbaldwick.

Today, members of a 20-strong 'community panel' of local people set up to advise on the scheme and relay local residents views became the first people to see them.

The plans will go on view to the public generally from Thursday.

The new community is expected to be to 21st century York what New Earswick was to the city 100 years ago - and could set new standards for housing development across the country.

The development is expected to incorporate 'smart-home technology', houses designed so they can be easily extended and altered if growing families need more space, and imaginative use of footpaths, cycleways and open spaces.

But it is not without controversy. Ever since the scheme was announced last June, locals have been objecting to use of the greenfield land for a new housing development.

They say they are worried about the impact of extra traffic on already congested roads, the density of housing proposed for the site, and what will happen to electricity pylons which cross the land.

Part of the problem has been that locals were asked for their views on the development before planners had even had a chance to put pen to paper.

A community consultation was held in October last year in which local people were asked for their views on the development, even though crucial decisions on factors such as the number of houses had still not been taken.

The community panel, made up of members elected by local residents and others representing organisations like schools and local police and designed to ensure the views of local people were made known to planners, was set up shortly afterwards.

Jacquie Dale, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's community development officer, said a deliberate decision had been made to seek people's views early, so they would have a chance to influence planners' thinking and so have a real input into the development process.

In a further break with tradition, she said representatives from the community panel would have equal say with the city council and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in deciding on January 31 which if any of the competing designs would be commissioned.

She admitted some people had found being asked to make suggestions for the development when there were no hard plans for them to comment on difficult.

But she said: "Often consultation can be good and sound, but the decision is made elsewhere, usually by men in suits.

"We're hoping what's happened here could be as much a model for the future as the development itself."

Designs for the site submitted by the four rival teams will go on show to the public at 10am on Thursday, at St Hilda's Church Hall. On the same day, thousands of households in the Tang hall, Osbaldwick and Meadlands areas of York will be leafleted.

The plans will be on display in Heworth Community Hall in Stray Lane on Friday and Saturday, and will be displayed at Osbaldwick Sports centre on Monday.

A selection panel made up of representatives from the community panel, City of York Council and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation will meet on January 31 to decide which if any of the four schemes will be commissioned.

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