For those of us fortunate to live in Wetherby and the surrounding villages, we appreciate the pleasant countryside setting, green spaces, access to excellent local shops and services, and a real sense of community. It is a great place to live, so it’s perhaps not surprising that developers want to build more and more new houses. A recent Telegraph article identified Wetherby in the top 10 market towns to visit in the UK
Over recent years large scale house building has taken place in Wetherby. Further new houses are under construction, more have been approved, with even more subject to current planning applications. But such large-scale development has consequences. The town already has serious highways problems of traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, limited parking and road safety concerns. Local services such as schools, GP & dental services, social services and emergency services face significant pressures. Substantial new housing can only result in further pressure on already overstretched local services and infrastructure.
In 2018, several local organisations and residents in the Wetherby area came together to form a new Partnership under the banner of Better Wetherby (BW). Organisations involved include:
Wetherby Town Council
Wetherby Civic Society
Wetherby & Kirk Deighton Countryside Partnership
Wetherby Business Association
Wetherby and District U3A
Wetherby Churches Together
Kirk Deighton Parish Council
Collingham with Linton Parish Council
Linton Village Society
BW registered with Companies House in 2019 as a "Private company limited by guarantee without share capital" under the name "Better Wetherby Partnership Ltd" (Company Number 11855009 - address 41 Spofforth Hill, Wetherby, LS22 6SF), the company is run entirely by volunteers.
BW is not a NIMBY lobby group. It is non-political. The organisation accepts that some new housing, particularly more ‘affordable’ and reasonably costed new properties, especially for young people, will be needed in Wetherby over the coming years. The principal aim of BW is to ensure that future house building is done in a considerate and carefully managed way so that the character of the town and environment is protected for future generations. In this respect, BW strives to ensure that future new homes are developed in a considered, responsible way, taking into account the need for measures addressing the climate emergency and protecting the environment. A recent newsletter also provides some further background information about our origins, aims and structure.
Recently, two large developments have been subject to planning applications. BW efforts resulted in a successful appeal against one of these, whilst we are actively liaising with the developer of the other one to ensure the best outcome for Wetherby.
The work of BW is coordinated by a Steering Group (SG). Feeding into the SG are a number of working groups responsible for examining potentially negative impacts on the town, and for proposing positive actions to improve the local economy, character and scale of Wetherby.
Throughout the difficulties and constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, representatives of BW continued to be very active in efforts regarding the evolving housing situation to ensure that the views of local people are taken into account in the planning process and the character of our historic and attractive market town and the environment is preserved for future generations. We welcome your support.
See our Newsletters and Press Releases for a summary of actions to date. See also our 20Jul2022 'newsletter' for a response to Social Media comments
Over recent years large scale house building has taken place in Wetherby. Further new houses are under construction, more have been approved, with even more subject to current planning applications. But such large-scale development has consequences. The town already has serious highways problems of traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, limited parking and road safety concerns. Local services such as schools, GP & dental services, social services and emergency services face significant pressures. Substantial new housing can only result in further pressure on already overstretched local services and infrastructure.
In 2018, several local organisations and residents in the Wetherby area came together to form a new Partnership under the banner of Better Wetherby (BW). Organisations involved include:
Wetherby Town Council
Wetherby Civic Society
Wetherby & Kirk Deighton Countryside Partnership
Wetherby Business Association
Wetherby and District U3A
Wetherby Churches Together
Kirk Deighton Parish Council
Collingham with Linton Parish Council
Linton Village Society
BW registered with Companies House in 2019 as a "Private company limited by guarantee without share capital" under the name "Better Wetherby Partnership Ltd" (Company Number 11855009 - address 41 Spofforth Hill, Wetherby, LS22 6SF), the company is run entirely by volunteers.
BW is not a NIMBY lobby group. It is non-political. The organisation accepts that some new housing, particularly more ‘affordable’ and reasonably costed new properties, especially for young people, will be needed in Wetherby over the coming years. The principal aim of BW is to ensure that future house building is done in a considerate and carefully managed way so that the character of the town and environment is protected for future generations. In this respect, BW strives to ensure that future new homes are developed in a considered, responsible way, taking into account the need for measures addressing the climate emergency and protecting the environment. A recent newsletter also provides some further background information about our origins, aims and structure.
Recently, two large developments have been subject to planning applications. BW efforts resulted in a successful appeal against one of these, whilst we are actively liaising with the developer of the other one to ensure the best outcome for Wetherby.
The work of BW is coordinated by a Steering Group (SG). Feeding into the SG are a number of working groups responsible for examining potentially negative impacts on the town, and for proposing positive actions to improve the local economy, character and scale of Wetherby.
Throughout the difficulties and constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, representatives of BW continued to be very active in efforts regarding the evolving housing situation to ensure that the views of local people are taken into account in the planning process and the character of our historic and attractive market town and the environment is preserved for future generations. We welcome your support.
See our Newsletters and Press Releases for a summary of actions to date. See also our 20Jul2022 'newsletter' for a response to Social Media comments
