27 new homes proposed at Hemingbrough green field site

New homes could be built in a Selby area village after plans were submitted for consideration by council planners.

Developers are seeking permission to build as many as 27 new homes on land at Orchard End, Hemingbrough. The land, on the edge of the village, is currently used as agricultural fields.

The land at the centre of the proposed project is outside of the agreed ‘limits’ of the village and would normally be considered an encroachment into the village’s surrounding countryside. Such encroachment would historically have been routinely rejected.

The case for outright rejection of such schemes has become somewhat muddied in recent times as a result of Selby Council’s failure to prove it has a full five-year supply of land to meet local housing needs.

A number of appeals against refusals by Selby’s troubled planning department have already been won on this basis.

Some now worry that those appeals have potentially given rise to a loophole that could allow for uncontrolled countryside development until the council can demonstrate it can meet local housing demands.

Residents from neighbouring propertied have been quick to express their concern over the proposal.

An objection, submitted to the council’s website, highlights the ‘excessive’ volume of traffic in the area and suggests it would be dangerous for local roads to take additional vehicles.

The application is currently pending with a decision not likely before November.

♦ What do you think? Does the districts need for new homes come before protecting the countryside? Comment below...