Residents fear damage from development site lorries

Residents living close to a huge development site in York have said they are "fed up" with construction lorries travelling through their neighbourhood.

Work has been ongoing on the York Central project since 2022 - a regeneration scheme on a 45-hectare site next to the city's railway station.

But those living nearby in the Leeman Road area, including on Salisbury Terrace, said they feared the heavy wagons could cause damage to properties and roads as well dealing with ongoing noise and pollution.

Both City of York Council and developers York Central said there was a planning condition in place to restrict heavy vehicle movements through residential streets.

As part of the project, the former railway land will be transformed into 2,500 homes along with office, retail and leisure space as well as public areas.

The council said the entire project was estimated to be completed around 2035.

John McGall, who runs a foodbank in the Leeman Road area, said residents had "put up with quite a lot over the last few years".

He said people had been forced to move their cars because some of the loads had been so heavy.

"We've had to just get on with it. We've been forgotten about in all honesty," he added.

The disruption comes following problems caused to residents by a burst water main in the area earlier this month.

Valerie Turbot, whose lives adjacent to where the road collapsed two weeks ago, said the lorries were "not supposed to" travel down the street "but they do".

Questions have now been raised as to whether planning conditions might have been breached.

Holgate councillor Kallum Taylor said he had raised the issue with the developers and the council to establish if any breaches had taken place.

Taylor added: "Construction firms working on the site should only be bringing vehicles through the area if it is not practical to use other routes."

He said if they were just bringing every single vehicle through or most vehicles, then "that is not in the spirit of the planning condition".

Taylor said he and other councillors were monitoring the situation and had urged the developers to improve communication with residents.

The council said signage was in place at the junction with Water End advising drivers of the planning restrictions.

It said "comprehensive traffic management plans are in place", with movements on and off the site with dust, noise and vibration all monitored.

It has urged residents to report any potential breaches to the authority.

Meanwhile, York Central said: "Comprehensive traffic management plans are in place with dust, noise and vibration monitoring all undertaken."

It said Salisbury Terrace and Kingsland Terrace were signposted to prohibit construction traffic, with the Leeman Road tunnel the only permitted access route for heavy vehicles serving the site.

A spokesperson added: "The residential road is unsuitable for large/heavy vehicles, and there is an existing rail bridge with a 3.2m height restriction, which would prevent heavy vehicles from accessing site via this route."

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