Plans submitted for 80 homes on the Bootham Crescent stadium site
Plans for 80 homes to be built on York City’s Bootham Crescent stadium have been submitted to the council.
Persimmon Homes is planning to develop the site after York City Football Club moves to the new stadium at Monks Cross this summer.
The club has been based at Bootham Crescent for the last 87 years and stadium development director Ian McAndrew said leaving the ground will be “undoubtedly emotional”.
The planning application, which will be submitted jointly by the developer and the football club, features proposals for 80 houses and apartments including affordable homes.
‘Controverial and emotional’
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Leaving Bootham Crescent is, to some people, controversial and will, undoubtedly, be emotional to all those involved with York City Football Club.
We are conscious of the importance of the stadium to our supporters and, in particular, those families who have scattered the ashes of their relatives there.
I can assure everybody that this issue is at the forefront of our the discussions with both the developer and Historic England.
Whilst the detail is still being worked on, I can confirm that an area within the public open space will be allocated as a place for remembrance as well as there being permanent reminders of the club’s long history on the site.
Fans and residents were invited to have their say on plans for Bootham Crescent during a public consultation last September.
Simon Usher from Persimmon said responses from the consultation were used to inform the development.
He said: “We are aware of the sensitive nature of this development and have carefully considered the views expressed at our public consultation meeting and those of Historic England, which have helped form our recently submitted planning application.”
Why Persimmon?
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It is important to look back in history – as many supporters may not remember the tragic state of affairs in 2002 when the club’s then chairman and directors sold Bootham Crescent to Persimmon Homes leaving the club with only a one year lease.
When the club went into administration in 2003 it was saved at the 11th hour by the supporters – and it was necessary, in order to stay playing in the Football League, for the club to have a minimum secure tenure of ten years.
This was achieved with the support of the city council, giving guarantees whereby – if the club had to leave Bootham Crescent – it would be able to play at the former Huntington Stadium.
In 2005 the club bought Bootham Crescent back on the basis that York City FC would relocate to a new stadium and Persimmon would then have an option to buy the site.
Persimmon has an appalling reputation when it comes to fleecing its house buyers. The company has made such huge profits recently, primarily as a result of the Government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, that it initially awarded its CEO an annual bonus of… £110 MILLION. Yes, you read it right. The CEO graciously agreed to reduce his bonus to… £75 MILLION! He is no longer with the company.
Persimmon is at the heart of the National Leasehold Scandal see nationalleaseholdcampaign.org. This is where the developer (Persimmon) sells houses with Leasehold tenure, and sets up an associated company which sells the Freehold of the house to an investment company, often based offshore for tax reasons. When the house buyers (Leaseholders) ask to buy the Freehold, they find it’s too late, and they are no better than tenants, even though they will have taken out mortgages. They then find they face ground rents and hefty service charges, plus permission fees levied by the service company/landlord (Freeholder) for things such as changing carpets, or owning a pet. These houses were over-valued in the first place, and now that the leasehold scandal has been exposed, leaseholders find they cannot sell, and certainly not for what they paid, which means they are in negative equity. And, if they want/need to re-mortgage, they find they cannot get a mortgage for the amount they need. Also, Councils are not adopting roads on new developments because the developers won’t build them to the required standard, resulting in e.g. no road surfacing, collapsed drains, floods, etc… This is a living hell for leaseholders. All the while, the likes of Persimmon are making massive profits, as are the Freeholders.
There is a large cross-party of MPs supporting Leasehold reform, driven by a grass roots campaign, but it is being thwarted at every turn by the wealthy and influential Freehold lobby.
Persimmon will hate it, but York Council needs to ensure 4 things at least:
1. No ‘Fleecehold!’ All houses sold as Freehold, but with no onerous permission fees and service charges;
2. Apartments which are sold as Leasehold, should have fair service charges and fees, and the Freehold should not be sold on to Ground Rent investors;
3. ‘Affordable’ housing should be within the means of a young nurse or teacher;
4. The Council forces Persimmon to deliver fit for purpose roads, and commits to adopt the roads on the development before any properties are sold.