Video: ‘We’ve listened’: Network Rail changes plans for a compound near houses in York

Network Rail says it’s listening to residents in Dringhouses and Woodthorpe and will relocate a controversial compound that will be set up in a field off Moor Lane.

It will be moved but will still be in the same field but further away from houses.

When it was first announced it led to one couple losing a buyer for their property because of fears it would have been a souce of noise and dust.

While it will be further away from those houses, the entrace to it will still be on Moor Lane.

The compound is needed so that Network Rail can carry out work on the TransPennine Upgrade to bring a faster and more frequent service to the line to Leeds and Manchester.

‘Not as intrusive’

Olivia Huntly is the sponsor for Network Rail’s TransPennine Upgrade Programme, the official spokesperson, and she has been talking to David Dunning on YorkMix Radio.

She said the company was sorry for any concern caused by the plans and said they would keep residents informed and carry on talking to them about what they want to do.

She said they have taken note of the criticism and come up with some answers. “First of all we stopped work on our compound and listened to residents concerns.

They have now moved the site further down the field away from residents. It’s hoped the new position, while still visible, will not be as intrusive.

The Woodthorpe site is what they call a satellite compound.

It is enabled by a much bigger logistics hub, at Gascoigne Wood near Sherburn-in-Elmet, where they will prefabricate most of the materials, and then bring them up the line to Woodthorpe.

“Some of that will be by rail, some of that will be by road, but the majority of the machinery and the people will be at Gascoigne Wood.” Said Ms Huntly.

Two lorry loads a day

“We’re aware just how busy it is (Moor Lane) and we will do what we can to avoid the school run hours.

“We can control arrivals at the site because usually it’s our vehicles coming from our logistics hub, we’ve got a special app which we use to control them.

“We will also have a designated fully trained traffic marshal, who knows when those vehicles coming to site and will be there at the gate to meet them and to control the traffic.”

It’s expected that there will be just two lorry loads a day to the site now as more material will arrive from Gascoigne Wood.