A YORK MP has launched an online petition calling for the city’s Green Belt to be protected after plans for 22,000 new homes around the city were revealed.

City of York Council’s draft Local Plan, set to go out for public consultation next week, targets building at least 1,090 houses a year up to 2030, with major schemes earmarked for land at Clifton Moor, Monks Cross, Copmanthorpe, Haxby and to the south of the city and many of the sites identified being greenfield land.

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy’s petition on the council’s website has called for the plan to be amended so Green Belt sites are safeguarded, saying the new homes figure is too high and brownfield sites should be used first. He said: “I am extremely concerned about the effectiveness of the forthcoming consultation period, and it’s really important York’s elected representatives do all they can to ensure public opinion is heard loud and clear in the coming weeks and months.

“I feel the petition will resonate with a great many people as it highlights the plan’s unsustainable housing targets and the hugely negative effect it will have on our city’s charming rural setting.”