Update - March 2023

On 1 April, the North Yorkshire Council (NYC) takes over as our new local government body, and Selby District Council will cease to exist. This seems an appropriate moment for HHAG (Halt Heronby Action Group) to update everyone on the progress so far.

The Selby Local Plan consultation received a huge response of around 1500 responses, with more than 85% of responses actively against some of the council’s plans and, specifically, against the flagship policy of the Heronby development. Adding weight to our efforts, City of York Council (CYC) also weighed in against Heronby, reinforcing all of the issues in our submission concerning traffic volumes, unfunded capital expenditure, intrusion onto green belt land (for additional and essential road improvements) and a failure to consult with CYC. Additionally, CYC rejected any interim use of York schools, creating an education ‘black hole’ if Heronby goes ahead.

Regretfully, Selby Council has not responded to the 287-page technical response that HHAG submitted in opposition to the Local Plan that identified numerous key planning flaws. Subsequently, we sent three letters to every Selby councillor, and NYC, demanding that they act to modify the plan into something more acceptable to residents. It has been 5 months since the consultation ended and SDC seem to have failed the legal tests of fairness, impartiality and transparency, 

The Selby Executive met on 2nd March and, in the absence of any detailed information, they decided to submit the original plan unapproved, for NYC to deal with. Apparently, NYC have a meeting planned for May which Selby councillors believe will progress the Local Plan, though in what format is not yet known.

Be assured, we will be continuing to fight for the views expressed by you and to ensure that NYC takes full recognition of them. We will keep you up to date with decisions and developments as they affect our area.

Thank you for your support which has already played a key role in opposing this widely disliked plan.