As a part of a new town plan for Tadcaster, Selby District Council is proposing to close Tadcaster's Central Car Park and replace it with housing. This proposal would form part of a new Selby District Plan.

Apparently and rather prematurely, discussions are underway between Selby Council and a major landowner in the town on achieving this aim.

This creates a clear danger that Tadcaster would lose a major asset of the town. The car park is an essential facility very useful to residents, workers, shoppers, businesses and visitors. The central location providing easy access to many of the town's small businesses. It has the capacity for large events at the Riley Smith Hall, the town's churches, the Annual Christmas Market and other local celebrations and activities.

Bearing this in mind, there was a strong response from individuals and the Tadcaster Town Council that this was a completely  unacceptable part of the plan.

If Tadcaster requires more housing, and many people feel it would be beneficial, there are other alternative locations within the town. Indeed, the Selby District Plan sets out parcels of land in the town sufficient to build over 400 new homes. Of this number, planning permission already exists for the development of 270 homes on ‘brownfield’ land. Also, the Town Council were recently presented with a scheme to build a further 500 new homes on the NW edge of the town.

Local landowners could also renovate the many uninhabitable and empty residential and commercial properties in the town centre that once provided homes in the middle of the town. A move that would improve the visual appearance of the town no end and meet some of the need for housing..

Clearly, with these options open for building houses there is no pressing need to build houses on the Central Car Park.

The purpose of this petition is to remind Selby Council and the elected representatives of Tadcaster's residents of the strength of feeling on this matter. And, for them to remove the option of replacing the Central Car Park with housing from the forthcoming Selby District Plan.