Homes plan sparks parish council resignation threat

Persimmon Homes has applied to build 107 homes on land off Low Eggborough Road

Members of a parish council have threatened to resign en masse if plans to build more than 100 homes on the edge of a North Yorkshire village are approved.

Persimmon Homes wants to build the 107-property development on land off Low Eggborough Road in Eggborough.

Christian Cotter, a local councillor, told a North Yorkshire Council planning meeting that Eggborough Parish Council's "chair, the vice chair to every member" would quit if the scheme went ahead.

Planners, who had previously recommended the scheme for approval, voted unanimously to defer a final decision until after a site visit.

The meeting on Wednesday heard there was significant opposition to the scheme from the local community.

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

Objectors say Low Eggborough Road is too narrow to cope with the resulting traffic

Planners heard many objectors had concerns over proposed access to the site, which is located about seven miles (11km) south of Selby.

They said the access road would be too narrow for the amount of traffic which would be using it.

Cotter described the application as "outlandish" and said building more homes would worsen water pressure issues he claimed some residents already experienced.

Councillor John McCartney, of North Yorkshire Council, urged committee members to make a site visit and also called for the scheme to include more affordable housing than the 10% proposed.

Persimmon agent Mark Lane told members of the Selby and Ainsty area planning committee the scheme was for homes on land "largely allocated for housing".

"All of the site lies within the development limits, the principle of development is plainly acceptable," he said.

"Planning permission should be granted unless the adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the planning committee voted for a site visit, despite a warning the applicant could appeal on the grounds of non-determination if the council failed to make a decision within the legally required timeframe.

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