Heslington East: environmentally unsound
The plans for Heslington East are unimaginative, environmentally damaging and driven more by money than academic logic. If the government is serious about environmental performance it must turn down this application. The proposed lake is not needed and, even by the evidence of the University’s own consultants, unlikely to be sustainable.
The plan to build offices for 2500 Science City York companies on greenbelt land cannot be justified by the University’s own data. On evidence provided, a maximum of 300 jobs might be created in the next 20 years which have genuine academic links, not 2500. The existing science park has a capacity of 1200 and currently 900 people there work for companies or organisations with no valid academic links – the current Science Park is simply a property development.
There are brownfield sites available at the former Terry’s site, Hungate, the soon to be closed British Sugar Factory, the soon to be available half of the Nestle Factory or the York Central site behind the railway station.
Is it not remarkable that none of the plans for the proposed new campus went before the University’s Environmental Performance Working Group? I wonder why?
Dr Richard Finn
Biology Department
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