YORK Natural Environment Trust chairman Mick Phythian is not alone in doubting 'Without Walls' and its 'Towards a Vision for York' report (March 26).
As long ago as May 2002, organisations making up York's Natural Environment Panel (YNEP) noticed that development interests dominated the Without Walls board. They asked to meet David Atkinson, then council chief executive and offered environmental input to redress the balance.
It took six weeks and a reminder to get a reply, which amounted to, "don't call us, we'll call you." The meeting request was ignored.
Eight months passed, the URBED report was written, to a so far unobtainable brief from its developer sponsor, and only then were environmentalists permitted to participate as the 'environment forum'. It is hard not to notice how this early process gave strategic advantage to the development case.
URBED's final draft advocated large scale development and ignored the environment. Severe criticism from the forum led to a cosmetic sprinkling of environmental references in the final report, but came too late to influence its built-in advocacy of large scale growth.
Under York's Local Plan, for every home or job created for existing residents, 32 are envisaged for economic migrants. The Without Walls report advocates even greater growth imbalance, which it accepts can ultimately only be accommodated on York's green spaces.
Seeking alternatives to heavily unbalanced, artificially stimulated expansion, YNEP has requested Without Walls to commission a new study, exploring the 'slow and natural' growth option, from someone with proven sustainability credentials such as Friends of the Earth. We hope, as a start to restoring confidence in and balance to its activities, Without Walls will agree.
Barry Potter,
Chairman,
YNEP,
Knapton Lane, York.
...MICK Phythian makes some important points in relation to the recent Without Walls discussion document (March 26) but provides an inaccurate description of the council's economic strategy in suggesting that it is focused solely on attracting inward investment.
Quite the opposite. The strategy is based on creating the conditions for a sustainable economy that is not dependent on inward investment.
It focuses on using the science and tourism sectors as the key internal "engines" to drive the York economy - generating business activity and jobs across the economy.
Eighty per cent of the 2,000 jobs generated within the Science City York sectors has come from existing businesses. Inward investment still has an important role to play, but the York economy is no longer dependant on it for its future success.
As a consequence, the economy is stronger and more able to withstand economic pressures and downturns. The resulting prosperity in the city now needs to be translated across the community so that all York residents can benefit, and the council's economic policy is aimed at doing just that.
Tony Bennett,
Assistant director,
Economic development,
George Hudson Street, York.
Updated: 09:25 Saturday, April 05, 2003
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