Thumbs down for 57 new home plan in North Duffield

Plans that could have seen a major expansion of a Selby-area village have been rejected by district planners.

The scheme, that would have given outline permission for 57 new homes to be built on farmland in North Duffield, went before Selby District Council's planning committee last Wednesday.

Councillors at the meeting refused to give the scheme their approval, claiming the project would cause 'demonstrable harm' to the character of the village and that its size was far too excessive for smaller villages, such as North Duffield.

It was always going to be an uphill struggle for developers to gain approval to build on this site, purely because of its location. The land is predominantly outside of the agreed expansion zone – known as the village's development limits – meaning the area was to be considered 'open countryside' and subject to extra protections.

To counter this point, developers enlisted planning consultants Peacock & Smith, who argued that North Duffield's development limits couldn't be considered to be 'fit for purpose'. They claimed the present limits would leave the council unable to deliver the level of new homes it had already agreed to for the village in its own planning policy documents.

This argument was discounted, however, when the council showed that there was already a number of smaller-scale approvals in place that, in combination, would deliver further 59 homes.

News of the refusal will come as a relief to the numerous local residents who objected to the project. More than 30 objections was received by the local authority, raising concerns over issues including overlooking, road safety and the sheer size of the proposed extension to the village.

The developers have until the first week in April to consider whether or not they wish to appeal.