PLANS have been drawn up for the final details of one of York’s biggest housing developments.

The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) has submitted proposals for the design of more than 300 homes which will form the last two phases of the £100 million Derwenthorpe “model village” scheme to City of York Council.

Councillors granted permission for 123 properties to be built through the second wave of work on the site, off Metcalfe Lane in Osbaldwick, last month.

Once complete, Derwenthorpe will have 540 family homes which will all be designed to be energy-efficient.

JRHT’s latest application covers the appearance of the 346 homes which will be constructed through phases three and four of the scheme and will stand on the northern edge of Derwenthorpe, next to existing properties in Fifth Avenue, Meadlands and Osbaldwick, as well as landscaping matters.

The council is expected to make a decision on the plans in August.

“The house types proposed are similar to phases one and two with respect to their design, although two new unit types are included, which are bungalows sharing the Meadlands boundary and apartments overlooking the Derwenthorpe energy centre,” said Nigel Ingram, JRHT’s director of development and asset management.

“We have already written to representatives of the local community and have taken the same approach as we did with the planning application for phase two by keeping them informed.”

JRHT has said Derwenthorpe – which will include 135 rental properties and 81 homes for part-ownership – will help solve a “chronic shortage” of family housing in York.

Permission for the development was granted in 2007 and work on the first phase, including 64 homes, began last summer after a lengthy planning and legal wrangle and a campaign by residents who feared the scheme would cause traffic problems and lead to open space being lost.