A MAJOR housing scheme is being sought by the outer ring road on the edge of York.

The Joseph Rowntree Trust has formed a partnership with property developer North Star to build 70 homes on a 2.73 plot of Green Belt land near Poppleton.

Their outline plans concern the D-Tails plants nursery site off the A59 Roman Road, a tenanted business, which would relocate elsewhere.

The partnership has been told by council planning staff that with the site being in Green Belt, the applicants would have to demonstrate ‘very special circumstances’ to gain approval.

The trust and North Star, whose other projects include York’s Roman Quarter, The Gasworks and Malmaison, highlight that their plans will help address a great need for homes in York, especially social housing.

The plans, which follow public consultation including a drop-in exhibition and online feedback, say 24 homes would be market and 46 either social rent or shared ownership.

There would be a mix of 1,2,3 and 4-bed homes, with the mix still to be determined.

The public consultation also led proposed housing numbers to drop from 75, the saving of some trees and new planting to deliver a net gain in biodiversity.

The proposed site access will provide vehicular, pedestrian and cyclist access and will tie into the existing pedestrian footway provision. A new priority T-junction with ghost-island right turn will be created onto the A59 to the south of the site. A widened carriageway by the site would help accommodate drivers leaving the site and reduce the need to queue onto the A59 Roman Road.

The partnership says the site is in a highly sustainable location, close to Poppleton Station, local bus stops and cycle network. Several employment and community facilities, schools, a children’s nursery, and retail shops are also nearby.

The site lies next to homes and commercial development and is currently occupied by structures associated with the existing wholesale plant nursery business, which plans to relocate.

Since the plans are at the ‘outline stage,’ the application concerns the principle of development, with design and other details to be settled later at the ‘Reserved Matters’ stage.

David Boyes-Watson, Deputy Director, Development and Asset Management from Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust said: “New and high-quality affordable homes are the foundation for people’s lives and there is a critical need for these homes in York.  We are pleased to have submitted the plans and look forward to working with North Star to build these homes in the near future.”

 A spokesperson from North Star said: “This scheme provides a fantastic opportunity to contribute to York’s established local housing need within a contained site located on the gateway to York City Centre. We look forward to a planning decision over the coming months”.

The planning application reference number is: 22/02344/OUTM.