A PARISH council chairman today vowed to lead "strong opposition" to a huge proposed development in a York village.

Keith Hyman, chairman of Huntington Parish Council, said there was "real concern" about the proposed development, on the Birch Park estate.

If approved it would see 226 apartments built, in three and four storey blocks, behind the Royal Mail depot. Joint applicants Barratt Homes and S Harrison have also applied to build access roads, cycle parking and one car parking space for each apartment. The size of the development lead to last night's snap meeting of Huntington Parish Council.

Coun Hyman said: "The infrastructure and services in Huntington are already experiencing pressure. If this goes ahead it can only add to that, so there is concern not just among parish council members but also among members of the public.

"We had some members of the public at last night's meeting, which is unusual for a planning meeting, and the two meetings we have held previously about Huntington's over development have attracted 500 people.

"That shows the strength of feeling here. I think we can expect opposition to these plans from local residents as well as the parish council."

Huntington residents and councillors have already voiced strong opposition to plans that could see hundreds of homes built on green belt land in the area.

Consultation on the Birch Park plans is currently taking place with local residents. The deadline for responses is January 31.

Ian McAndrew, Harrison's associate director, said: "Harrison, as a responsible company, is sensitive to the needs of local residents to provide developments which are appropriate to the needs of the locality. We have had preliminary discussions with representatives of the of the council and the local community which will continue as we address possible issues of concern."

Updated: 16:23 Tuesday, January 21, 2003