Cash pitch for York eco plan

12:40pm Monday 1st December 2008

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THE case for York winning a White Rose race to claim millions of pounds in vital funding for an “eco community” was today being made to the Government.

City of York Council leader Andrew Waller hopes to steal a march for the area when he and representatives from other Yorkshire authorities in the Leeds City Region Partnership (LCRP) make their pitches in an attempt to secure the cash needed to make development schemes a reality.

York has applied for £65 million from the Government to create an eco district on the huge York Northwest brownfield area, which includes the old British Sugar and York Central “teardrop” sites.

But it faces three rivals for the initial wave of cash to be allocated to one LCRP scheme next year, in the shape of similar projects earmarked for Leeds’ Aire Valley, the Bradford-Shipley Canal Corridor and North Kirklees.

Coun Waller and other LCRP members were today outlining their plans to Communities Minister Iain Wright, who will have a major say on where the first funding stream for a Yorkshire eco community is diverted towards, at a Wakefield meeting.

Civic chiefs in York hope to see 3,000 homes form part of an eco community at York Northwest – complete with affordable housing provision and public transport infrastructure, including a new bus station – by 2029, but the scheme has already been dealt one severe blow this year after the city’s bid for a share of a £100 million Government funding pot for LCRP schemes failed.

And last week John Reeves, chairman of developers the Helmsley Group, said an injection of at least £75 million of Government money would be needed to make the project economically attractive to developers.

“We will all be trying to get across to the minister the importance of an eco community to our particular areas and going to bat for our individual projects,” said Coun Waller.

“York Northwest does require private investment, but securing this Government money would mean many of the costs, such as infrastructure, would be taken out of the equation for any developer coming in. It would open up the site and make it much more attractive.

“This scheme is vital for York – it’s a key area for creating capacity for the city’s economy and demonstrating it is open for business, as well as providing affordable housing.”

He said other funding options would still be available if York misses out on the requested £65 million, but these would limit York Northwest’s potential to be environmentally-friendly and boast affordable housing. An all-party council delegation is also arranging a meeting with Housing Minister Margaret Beckett to promote York’s bid.