The site is broadly defined by the River Ouse to the east, Selby Canal to the south, Bawtry Road to the west and New Street to the north.
The area has traditionally been an industrial venue, with shipbuilding and port facilities dominating it. Over the years these industries have declined and other uses have taken hold including retailing, offices, industrial units and some residential development. This mix reflects the longer-established variety of the area including Selby Park, the railway station and bus station, the fire station and numerous public houses. Overall there is no cohesion, so the area lacks identity.
Through the production of a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) it is proposed to develop a new vision for the entire site. The SPD will set out a long-term goal of achieving both radical and gradual change that will build upon its strengths, maximise its opportunities and tackle its problems.
A Supplementary Planning Document is a legal document that sits within our overall Local Development Framework. It is designed to be used in planning to develop and explain Policies in more detail. In this instance, it is explaining Policy SEL6 and Policy SEL7 in the Saved Selby District Local Plan 2005. The SPD itself will not deliver the change nor commit the council or its partners to undertake the projects but will be a framework of policies and proposals to facilitate changes in a coordinated way.
The SSQ SPD has been discussed previously, and in the 2005 Local Plan, it was agreed that a developer brief should be prepared for the site. On 15 October and 24 November, the SPD was promoted to the wider public via a drop-in presentation held in the Londesborough Hotel. Residents, businesses and users of the area were asked to outline the problems and possible solutions as they saw them.
This informal consultation document outlines the aspirations of the local community as expressed at the recent consultation events. This does not form part of the statutory SPD consultation process, instead, it is an informal issues and options discussion document.
The SPD will be used in three principal ways:
- Promote the site to 3rd party developers.
- Be used to lever funds to deliver projects.
- Be used in determining planning applications.