Environmental concerns over plan for new village

The houses could be built on a 131-hectare site to the east of Scarborough Business Park

Plans to build a village of 1,400 homes near Scarborough have been met with more than a dozen objections from residents and authorities.

Persimmon Homes Ltd hopes to build a village known as Mountby on a 131-hectare site to the east of Scarborough Business Park, south of Cayton and Eastfield.

But Seamer Parish Council raised concerns over the "environmental impact on building on further agricultural land", and suggested the plan was likely to "exacerbate existing lack of capacity of old drainage and sewerage infrastructure”.

Persimmon Yorkshire said it had engaged with the community "to ensure that feedback informs the application process".

Persimmon's plans include a primary school, community centre and village green.

The current planning application has sought full consent for the first phase of the scheme, which would consist of 251 dwellings, site access and a spine road to provide parking and infrastructure.

New streets would be designed to favour walking and cycling over “private vehicles”.

At a recent meeting of Seamer Parish Council, officials objected to the "overdevelopment of Cayton village”, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They also raised concerns over road access and traffic generation on the “already busy” Cayton Low Road.

'Add to the problem'

Resident Hilary Gormanly told the meeting: “There are already queues of at least 20 minutes [on the road] – much longer during peak times and certainly twice as long in the holiday season.

“There needs to be alternative routes from the new dwellings to prevent bottlenecks and further delays.”

Elizabeth Milligan, another resident, said: "There is already a shortage of doctors, dentists, and community facilities in the area and this development will only add to this problem.

“Public transport is limited to one bus per hour and none after 19:00 BST.”

One of the consultees, National Highways, noted “policy deficiencies” in the plan and recommended permission “not be granted for a specific period”.

It said Persimmon “should continue discussions regarding the re-routing of bus services and consider re-routing bus services to better serve Seamer Rail Station, given its proximity to the site”.

Active Travel England said it was “not currently in a position to support the application”.

A spokesperson for Persimmon Yorkshire said: “Residents will be able to enjoy the equivalent of four football pitches of public open spaces on the first phase alone as well as a trim trail and play park.

“Homes will be zero-carbon ready, incorporating technologies such as EV chargers, solar panels and air source heat pumps.

“Further phases would see the delivery of a new link road, local centre for retail use as well as space for a new primary school.

“We have been engaging with the local community including Cayton Parish Council to ensure that feedback informs the application process and look forward to presenting these plans to North Yorkshire Councillors in due course.”

The scheme is now being considered by North Yorkshire Council planners.

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