The site of the battle of Fulford is under threat. If planning permission is granted, the landscape 90% of which has survived since 1066, will be irreparably damaged. (2003)

The public inquiry

The documents listed below are designed to give you a chance to assess for yourself whether the system is operating fairly and in the interest of the community. They have been overtaken by events as permission to build on the site has been granted - but it is here as a matter of record.

Since 1998, there has been a plan to build 600-800 houses on the site of the battle. The first study by the would-be developer, accepted that this was on the probable site of the battle and recommended more work be carried out to identify the battle site. No such work has been done. Only general archaeology has been carried out.

The latest version of the planning application dismisses this as the location, claiming that no evidence has been found even though they have not looked for any battle evidence. (Summary of correspondence.)

During the intervening years, the landowner, acting under instruction from the would-be developer Persimmon Homes (Yorkshire) Ltd, have refused to allow the research group to work on the site. (Happily, landowners surrounding the site have generally taken a more enlightened view.)

By denying access to investigate the site they are certainly frustrating our research. Their flawed vision is that absence of proof will be taken by the planners as proof of absence. You can read the largely one-way correspondence.

The application will soon come before the elected officers who will consider whether to grant outline planning permission. Because the potential developers have acted in such bad faith over the years, the City of York Council (COYC) will be asked to reject the application. (The planning meeting has been postponed again but please keep writing.)

Only by rejecting the application can any developer be forced to re-design their plan AFTER the proper investigations have been carried out. The potential developers have consistently failed to take advantage of the various deferments since 1999 to carry out the necessary work in spite of many appeals.

If you feel able to support the campaign to force a rethink, please:

• Fill in the form registering your support
• Add your name to the email petition
• Contact your MP
• If you live outside England, please write to the European commissioner for heritage
• We would be grateful for financial support

  Chas Jones

Some minor modifications have been made to remove names and appearance of theses documents for use on the website.

1. Recent letter to the local press about the defects of the planning process.
2. Maps showing proposed route of the road into the site
   1. Access route
   2. Access route
3. Comments on the Fulford Road Corridor Study
   • Lists the advice from the 1998 study by Buchanan Partnership which gives a number of reasons why this link road should not emerge onto Fulford Road
4. Questions about traffic
   • Lists questions about discrepancies in planning application
   • Access to information and references quoted requested 
5. Peer review of the would-be developers archaeology report
6. Some planning objections presented
   • Planning objection
   • Planning objection
7. Planning Green Paper response
   • The planning system in the UK is under review.
   • The period of consultation ended on 18 March 2002
   • Based on the experience gained, these suggestions were contributed
8. Planning 'obligations'
   • Recent letter to planning department objecting that they will ignore all archaeological findings and have not done their own assessment of the site's value to the community.
   • Developers can be obliged to undertake additional work by the planning authorities in Britain
   • These rules are also under review as they provide scope for a very British sort of corruption where the reward is power rather than pennies.

Catch 22

The Battle of Fulford does not enjoy the limited protection afforded by English Heritage and the Register of Historic Battlefields.

English Heritage's failure to register the battle was misinterpreted in the planning application as evidence that the site is not important. English Heritage have written to the COYC to correct this error and asked the planners to accept this as the site.

Chas Jones Dec 2004