Long-term strategy to shape city’s future

The Local Development Framework Core Strategy (LDF) will define any key development that takes place in the city over the next quarter century and instructs planners what the shape of the city should be.

It includes estimates on the number of houses that should be built across York and how many jobs will be created for its residents.

The new LDF will also help shape a number of multi-million pound developments over the coming decades, including the ongoing £750m expansion of York University and the £1bn York Central project, which is on one of the largest brownfield sites in the country. The scheme stalled during the recession, but York Council leaders stress will still become a reality.

York Council’s executive member for city strategy, Coun Steve Galloway, said: “It is a vital document. The LDF dictates how the city will develop over the next two decades. It instructs how much housing we will have, how many jobs we will have and what the priorities for the city will be. For that reason, it is a very important document.”

The LDF will go before York Council’s executive on Tuesday next week and will go out for public consultation later in the year before it is submitted to Government.

A council spokeswoman said: “The strategy will manage future development so that York’s unique features and character are protected and enhanced, the risk of flooding is minimised and that the city’s parks and open spaces are protected.

“The new strategy will also ensure that future development is concentrated in locations that are well served by public transport and services.”

Further information on the LDF is available on the council’s website at www.york.gov.uk