New plans for Selby

Green space protected in town centre development plans

8 November 2005

Plans to bring leading national retailers to Selby, extend the William Morrisons supermarket and build a new state of the art primary school and nursery, without affecting James Street recreation ground, have been submitted to Selby District Council.

An alternative location has been identified for the proposed new school on land behind the civic offices on Portholme Road, allowing the historic ‘bowling green’ to be retained.

The new scheme has been developed after further consultation with local stakeholders.  The new design offers a number of advantages over the previous plans including:

· Retention of the green space.
· Free three-hour town centre parking.
· No Morrison delivery vehicles will use Portholme Road.
· 528 town centre parking spaces, providing an opportunity to reinstate long stay parking if required by the town’s parking strategy.
· Dedicated access to the school providing a safe route for pupils on foot, a drop off and turning point for delivery vehicles and pupils arriving by car, and parking spaces for staff.
· A direct view of Selby Abbey from the school, reinforcing the links between the school and the Abbey.

The plans for the town centre proposed by Dransfield Properties are designed to bring new national retailers to the town and encourage the local population to shop within Selby, increasing the economic activity within the town and reducing trade leakage to nearby centres such as Leeds, York and Castleford.  Research by leading retail analysts CACI shows that market towns like Selby have the potential to perform better than major shopping centres.

The retail element of the scheme will deliver three new retail units and extend the Morrisons supermarket from 48,244 sq ft to 71,795 sq ft.  The units have been carefully designed to blend into the conservation area, and will be constructed in brick and slate.  Gable features will surround the entrances to the shop units and a glass canopy along the side of the unit (adjacent to the car park) will provide shelter for shoppers walking from New Street, drawing them into the heart of Selby town centre, through Market Cross and along Gowthorpe.

The car park will be available to all town centre shoppers and visitors and provide three hours free car parking.

Relocating Selby Abbey Church of England Primary School and providing a nursery is a vital part of the scheme.  While the present school buildings hold fond memories for many Selby residents, there is no nursery and the building does not meet the indoor or external space requirements laid down by the national curriculum.

In need of major refurbishment, the school does not cater for any future increase in the school population, and there is no nursery provision. 

The proposed new school will have a hardplay and multi-use games area (MUGA), 40 place nursery, 28 car parking spaces and state of the art classrooms installed with IT equipment.

The Diocese of York and the Governors of Selby Abbey School have welcomed Dransfield’s commitment to the future of Selby and its children, and will continue to work positively with Dransfield to achieve the best outcome for the town and the school.

Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties, said: “Our experience with the Market Cross and Three Lakes developments has shown that national retailers are eager to have a presence in Selby, but there is a lack of accommodation which meets their requirements.  The new purpose built units will bring leading high street names to the town, encouraging more visitors and protecting the future vitality of the area.

“We are proud of our history of listening to the community and have worked closely with local stakeholders to come forward with a new scheme which we hope is more acceptable to the people of Selby.”

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk