Ice rink and Derwenthorpe construction to be considered by council committee

The designer outlet is set to to bring its ice rink and Christmas fair back for years to come, and construction at the Derwenthorpe housing site is pushing ahead, planning documents show.Both the outlet and Derwenthorpe have planning applications due to be considered at a City of York Council committee meeting on the week of 6 June.Bosses at McArthur Glen want permission for temporary ice rink and fun fair on their car park from November to January in years to come, while at Derwenthorpe the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) is setting out plans for the fourth phase of building.Both applications have won the backing of planning officials at the council, who have recommended that councillors vote to permit the developments when they meet on Wednesday afternoon.The designer outlet application is for a 30 x 27 metre ice rink with a canvas skate hire building with cafe, office and first aid post. They also want a funfair with rides, a toys and games stand, food stall, marquee and log cabins, but have asked for enough flexibility to vary the rides from year to year.Planners are backing the scheme, saying that although it is in the greenbelt it does not reduce the “openness” of the landscape and is a valuable tourist asset in York. They have advised councillors to allow the fair to go ahead over Christmas indefinitely.A report going to the same committee meeting shows the JRHT wants to move 36 of the homes planned for phase four of Derwenthorpe, because overhead power lines mean the layout cannot go ahead as originally planned.The powerlines were to go underground but the National Grid has not been able to bury the lines and the houses now have to be moved to leave the clearance around the overhead power lines that regulations demand. The altered plans mean eight proposed homes will have to be scrapped altogether, and six will have to be moved onto the field previously earmarked as open space.JRHT have already made an application for these changes, but withdrew it before a decision could be made because they were unhappy with “mistakes” in the planning report about it at the time.Now the resubmitted application is recommended for approval by councillors on Wednesday.