Parish councillors quit over housing plan approval

Persimmon Homes has been granted planning permission to build 107 homes on land off Low Eggborough Road

All seven members of a parish council will resign at the end of the year after plans to build more than 100 homes in their village were approved.

The mass resignation of Eggborough Parish Council took place during a meeting on Thursday, following North Yorkshire Council's decision to approve the development off Low Eggborough Road three days earlier.

Martin Spencer, chairman of the parish council, said the planning process had been "flawed" and that the mass resignation had been a "really tough decision made with heavy hearts".

A North Yorkshire Council spokesperson said the planning application was approved after a lengthy debate and was subject to conditions.

Developer Persimmon's plans would see 107 new homes built in the village, which is located about seven miles (11km) south of Selby.

However, more than 260 people submitted objections to the plan, with one writing to support it.

Developer Persimmon said it will invest in local health services and bus routes

Mr Spencer said the parish council had concerns that the access road to the site would be too narrow for the amount of traffic using it.

He said the fight against the development had been going on for four years and had been a "constant drain" on the parish councillors' time and energy.

"We thought we could not go on and effectively represent our parishioners in this manner," he said.

"It is an absolute kick in the teeth to resign, but we think this is the only way we can get people to sit up and take notice of how it's affecting not just our parish council, but other parish councils in the vicinity."

In a letter to North Yorkshire Council, the parish councillors said the resignations would not come into effect until 31 December, to ensure "continuity of services for our residents and to avoid disrupting any additional festive activities".

Barry Khan, North Yorkshire Council's assistant chief executive for legal and democratic services, said the planning application was approved after "lengthy debate," and was subject to conditions.

"Where vacancies become available for members of parish councils we would seek to work with the clerk to set up and administer an election to fill the vacant seats," Mr Khan added.

A Persimmon spokesperson said the development would provide a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes and funding for local bus services.

He added: "We look forward to continuing to work with the council and the community to bring these plans to fruition."

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