Public inquiry call on Monks Cross community stadium and stores plan

York Civic Trust claims there are sufficient grounds for a call-in, “given that this scheme flies in the face of national, regional and local policy”.

Trust secretary Peter Brown said in a letter that if the country’s newly adopted NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) was to have any credibility, the application needed to be determined by an independent inspector who was mindful of all the issues surrounding the case.

The scheme, which includes new John Lewis and Marks & Spencer stores at Monks Cross, was approved last month by City of York Council’s planning committee, despite strong concerns being raised about the impact on city centre retailers.

The matter was subsequently referred to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who must decide whether to allow the decision to stand or call it in for an inquiry.

The Trust’s demands for an inquiry reitterate its views, expressed in a letter in February, that an independent examination was required because of the likely long-term effects of the proposals on the character, vitality and economy of the city centre.

It said then that national planning policy supported the importance of protecting city centres, “added to which is the recent report by Mary Portas in which she has advised the Government to ‘get tough’ on out-of-town schemes and thus reverse the decline of high streets.”

It said: “The Government’s own research has shown that out-of-town retail floorspace has risen by 30 per cent over the past decade, whereas in towns it has shrunk by 14 per cent.”

The trust said the city centre and its radial streets were not only of local and national importance but of international renown.

Of the 1,600 listed buildings in York, more than 1,000 were estimated to be in retail use, and the loss of shops would degrade the central historic core.

The deadline for representations to the Government on the Monks Cross scheme is tomorrow.