Battlefield plans to be debated again

Last month members of Selby District Council’s planning committee opted to defer a decision but indicated that they were mindful to refuse the application.

The plans will again be discussed by the committee on Monday but officers are again recommending it is approved.

Campaigners have called for further examination of the significance of a site on the edge of where the Battle of Towton was fought before the plans are passed.

Around 28,000 people died in the battle during the Wars of the Roses - it is believed to be the bloodiest ever fought on English soil - and villagers are concerned about the impact of the plans at The Gallops, Main Street, Towton, near Tadcaster.

A planning inspector ruled in 2009 the land was suitable to be used as a temporary travellers’ site and permission is now being sought to use the site permanently.

In a report to be considered by Selby District Council’s planning committee, the parish council warns the site lies around 100 metres outside the current boundary of the historic battlefield.

“Research is still ongoing and, as a result, the exact boundaries of the battlefield are still not yet fully defined; indeed, there is a distinct possibility that the area of land....may prove to be germane to part of the battle.”

Officers are recommending that the application is approved subject to conditions being agreed.

They have argued in a report there is a general need for additional gipsy sites in Selby and there is an absence of alternative sites for the traveller community.

They add that “substantial weight” should also be given to the health benefits of offering a permanent site for travellers and the issue of human rights, particularly those of children living on the site.