A Plan for York

York Council is developing a new Local Plan which will replace the 2025 Local Plan – which was started in 2012. York’s new plan will correct many of the errors of the earlier plan. However, it may not do enough to ameliorate the dire housing market in the UK or point the world to ways of living that do not trash the planet. It will not expand housing enough to allow the poor and the young to own their own homes – but it will make some progress in this direction.

While the new council plan may take greenhouse emissions more seriously, it will not guarantee lifestyles which have low enough emissions to meet York’s climate target.

The Council Plan may roll back some the enormous largesse the 2025 Local Plan hands to homeowners and landowners. It may cool the housing market for house sales and rents but not enough.

The world urgently needs examples of how we can live within planetary boundaries and at the same time show a reduction of the unfairness in our societies. I believe that adding to the plan six car-free developments will help to do this.

A strategy has evolved in writing this plan. It is is to more-or-less accept what York’s new plan will bring but add a large amount of low cost, low carbon housing to provide homes that the young and the poor can afford in environmentally friendly lifestyles.