£1bn Heronby settlement moves forward after years in limbo
Fresh plans for a settlement comprising around 3,500 homes between York and Selby are moving back towards the planning system, with Escrick Park Estate preparing to submit an outline planning application
Having spent several years in limbo following the collapse of the former Selby Local Plan process, a proposed new community on land west of Escrick has been in development since 2021.
It is now expected to have a construction value of around £1bn for the local economy and could take approximately 30 years to complete, with the first homes potentially ready for occupation in 2031, according to the latest project proposals.
An Environmental Impact Assessment scoping request has now been submitted to North Yorkshire Council, and a public exhibition is scheduled to take place in Escrick in October, with an outline planning application expected to follow towards the end of 2026.
Heronby was originally brought forward in response to Selby District Council’s search for strategic development sites as part of its new Local Plan.
Landowners were invited to put forward potential development sites in 2020, with land south-west of Escrick subsequently emerging as a potential location for a new settlement.
Escrick Park Estate unveiled its initial vision for Heronby in March 2021, appointing Brooks Murray as masterplanners and Turnberry Consulting as planning and development advisers.
The initial proposals were for a mixed-use new settlement of up to 4,000 homes, alongside schools, shops, employment space, community facilities, and extensive green infrastructure.
Public consultation began in early 2021, initially online due to Covid restrictions, followed by a public exhibition in September that year. Feedback from the consultation process was used to refine the masterplan.
In 2022, Heronby was included in Selby District Council’s emerging Local Plan proposals as the preferred new settlement.
The Local Plan provided land for up to 3,800 homes and 12 acres of employment land, although only around 945 homes were anticipated to be completed by 2040 because of the long-term nature of the development.
However, the project was subsequently caught up in local government reorganisation. Selby District Council was abolished in 2023 when North Yorkshire Council was created, and progress on adopting the Selby Local Plan was halted.
The new council subsequently considered a slimmed-down plan without an allocation for Heronby, leaving the proposed settlement without the anticipated Local Plan allocation.
The latest proposals have reduced the overall housing figure to around 3,500 homes. The new community would include two primary schools and a secondary school, alongside a health centre, high street, sports facilities, and new transport infrastructure.
More than half of the site is proposed to remain as green space, including a 116-acre country park. Plans also include park-and-ride facilities, a cycle hub, and improvements to the A19.
The project is being promoted as a comprehensively planned new settlement, with infrastructure intended to be delivered alongside housing rather than added to existing towns and villages through incremental development.
The latest masterplan also proposes more than 30% biodiversity net gain.
The EIA scoping request currently before North Yorkshire Council asks the authority to determine the environmental issues that should be assessed within an Environmental Statement submitted alongside a future application, and Escrick Park Estate is currently seeking public feedback on the emerging plans.
The current programme identifies 2031 as the potential date for the first homes to be ready for occupation, with the full 3,500-home development expected to take around three decades to complete.
Escrick is around 20 miles away from Cattal, where Caddick is currently progressing plans for another new settlement, Maltkiln, alongside North Yorkshire Council. Similarily, it plans to add 3,000 homes, two primary schools, a nursery, and a range of retail, health and sports facilities.
Escrick Park Estate’s Beilby Forbes Adam, landowners, said: “When North Yorkshire Council said it couldn’t take Heronby forward though the Selby Local Plan process, which was scrapped not long afterwards, we said we remained committed to creating a new community for the county.
“Two years later we are moving closer to being ready to submit an outline application. But before we do we want to hear what the potential future residents of Heronby would like to see there.
“We welcome the views of people of all ages, but we do particularly want to encourage younger people to join the conversation about what Heronby should be, about what it could mean to them.
“The housing crisis means too many young people can’t find a home of their own and are struggling to get on and lead their own lives – we want to hear from ‘Generation Limbo’.”
