A planning committee has been warned that all members of a parish council will resign if they approve plans for 107 homes on the edge of a North Yorkshire village.
Members of the Selby and Ainsty area planning committee this week deferred a decision on an application for the Persimmon development on land in Eggborough, near Selby, for a site visit.
The meeting had earlier heard how there was major opposition to the scheme from the local community.
More than 260 people submitted objections to the scheme, with only one writing to support the application.
Many of the concerns centre on the proposed access to the site off Low Eggborough Road, which objectors say is too narrow for the amount of traffic which would be using it.
Residents say there are more suitable access points to the site but this would involve the developer paying landowners for so-called ‘ransom strips’.
Eggborough parish councillor Christian Cotter described the application as “outlandish” and told the meeting a long-list of reasons why it should be refused.
He said the water pressure in this part of the village was now “incomprehensibly bad to the point they can’t run a tap upstairs and downstairs at the same time”.
He added: “Raw sewage has backed up 11 times in the last 36 months into homes and properties.
“Again, all raised with Yorkshire Water, all using the same systems that you plan on connecting this development to.
“This outlandish proposal is yet another example of corporate profiteering at the exponential expense of residents.”
The councillor concluded: “If this development is approved by the council, every member of the parish council from the chair, the vice chair to every member, resigns. That’s how strongly we feel about this.”
The meeting also heard from North Yorkshire councillor John McCartney, who represents the village.
He urged colleagues on the committee to make a site visit and called for more affordable housing than the proposed ten per cent to be included in the scheme.
The meeting also heard from Persimmon agent Mark Lane.
He said: “The scheme is for 107 dwellings on land largely allocated for housing. The remaining land is unallocated and contains agricultural buildings, hard standings and a farmhouse. All of the site lies within the development limits. The principle of development is plainly acceptable.”
He added: “As Selby also cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, the so-called tilted balance is engaged. This means that planning permission should be granted unless the adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.”
The committee voted unanimously for a site visit, despite officers warning that the applicant could seek to appeal on the grounds of non-determination.
