York council’s decision to grant planning consent for Land Securities’ Coppergate Riverside shopping centre breaks every rule in the York city development plan, a local conservation group has claimed.
Speaking at the public inquiry into the £60m scheme yesterday, York Civic Trust chairman Darrell Buttery said: “The council’s own policy is seriously compromised in this scheme.”
York’s unitary development plan (UDP) states that permission will not be granted if there is an adverse affect on historic buildings.
Buttery said: “The scale and massing of the proposal is too big, nor does it have any respect for adjacent buildings, landmarks or their settings.”
He added that the impact on the historic landscape of the adjacent Clifford’s Tower and Georgian “castle” would be disastrous, as the materials used for cladding the 300,000 sq ft (27,870 sq m) building are not traditional.
The inquiry continues.
EGi News 30/01/02
