Driffield Update

An update on various major Driffield issues:

 

Tesco’s new store: The proposals being put forward by Tesco were judged by the ERYC Planning Officers to be unsatisfactory (a view which I shared). The developer decided to reconsider the proposals and come back at some later time with revised plans, these revisions are still awaited.

 

The Cattle Market proposals: Here our ERYC Driffield Ward Councillor stance has always been that we wanted a detailed Planning and Retail Impact Assessment of these proposals before arriving at an informed view of the development. Indeed we asked for the ERYC planners to commission such a study. This ERYC study (conducted by independent consultants England & Lyle) was completed in February. It raises a number of serious issues and concerns. These have been discussed by the ERYC with the developers and they have also gone away to re-think their approach to their proposals.

 

There have been no delays in the processing of either of these major Driffield developments and I for one am very happy that the ERYC Planners are insisting that all of the information and investigations are completed so that a proper and informed decision can, in due course, be made.

 

Lockwood Street health centre and residential development: These plans and the proposed site layout put forward by the developers also raised cause for concern. The ERYC planners shared the view of Ward Councillors and nearby residents and again these developers have been  reviewing the layout of their proposals prior to bringing back new plans for further consideration. I am told that a new application has now been lodged but that this has not yet been validated by the planers, they should be available to  the public very soon (probably in the week commencing 12th March).

 

There has been some local press suggestion that the planning processes on these developments have been deliberately manipulated or delayed.  In all of these cases the timescale for the developments essentially lies with the developers not the Council and the ERYC is right to take its time to ensure that the information on the developments is complete, comprehensive and where possible addressing the concerns raised by residents.

 

Driffield Sports Centre and Pool: Construction is due to start on April 16th, of course this will depend on the contractor being able to complete whatever project he is currently working on before he moves plant, equipment and staff to Driffield to start work on this exciting facility.