A spate of hugely controversial development plans for the Beverley area is to be debated at a public meeting in the town next week.
The meeting has been called by the Beverley and District Civic Society to enable residents to air their views on the major issues and decisions facing the town.
The move comes amid claims that Beverley is now facing ‘crisis point’ over decisions affecting its future and a large turn-out is expected.
Developments including the 800-home proposals for the Longcroft site, the planned retail development at Grovehill Road and the repaving scheme for Saturday Market have already sparked huge controversy.
Now the public will have its say at the meeting on Friday December 7 at Toll Gavel Church, from 6 to 8pm.
The meeting will be chaired by the Mayor of Beverley, Councillor Margaret Pinder who said it had been sparked by the level of public feeling that has arisen following a number of recent decisions and proposals regarding development in the town and the adjoining Molescroft Parish.
She told the Beverley Guardian: “I applaud the Civic Society’s decision to hold this kind of public debate over matters that are so important for the town as a whole.”
A resolution is to be placed before Beverley Town Council at an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday that the Town Council offer all practical support to facilitate the meeting. Senior officers of East Riding Council and Beverley MP Graham Stuart are being invited to attend.
This week many local residents voiced their objections to the planned development on the Longcroft School site, which went on show in a two-day exhibition.
As reported in last week’s Beverley Guardian, town councillors have called on East Riding Council to think again over the future of the former depot site in Grovehill Road, fearing retail development there would cause major traffic problems and harm businesses in the town centre.
There has also been controversy over the planned £2.5million maintenance scheme for Saturday Market, with many residents objecting to the removal of most of the traditional cobbled setts.
The Civic Society says the town is under threat on every side from housing schemes, retail centres and ‘ill thought-out’ road schemes.
Spokewoman Barbara English said the Civic Society has become aware that many people feel the town is coming to a ‘crisis point’ in the planning for its future.
“The storm clouds are gathering and in particularly the sale of the Grovehill site for retail, when we all expected it to be for employment use, for start up business units and possibly affordable housing, and the large number of houses which seem to be going to be built around Beverley in the next 10 to 15 years,” she said.
Dr English said the Civic Society would like to challenge the targets for housing development, and the trigger for calling the meeting had been the proposals for the Longcroft site.
“There are other concerns such as the persistence of flooding, the range of new street crossings which will intensify traffic problems and the removal of the setts in the Market Place, to which our Society is overwhelmingly opposed,” she said.