A Plan for York

Local plans like the one York ratified last year have the disadvantage of giving up bargaining power by pre-allocating areas which will get planning permission for housing (and so handing enormous rewards to landowners). In addition, The inspectors for the York Plan also insisted that York’s approach to the green belt was strengthened, which could have restricted the areas allowed for housing until 2038.

Planning applications are judged against the Local Plan. If a proposed development aligns with the plan, it usually gets approved; if it conflicts, it can be rejected. It is claimed that a local plan gives the planning authority more power to reject planning applications that are not in the plan. But conversely, once a site is included in a local plan it is much harder to refuse a planning application so the bargaining power of the local authority to get more affordable or environmentally sound housing is diminished.

A possible solution to this conflict is for the Local Plan to identify a surplus of sites for possible housing so that York Council is not stripped of bargaining power at the time the next Local Plan is adopted.