Concern over green belt near Robin Hood Airport
03.12.05
Environmental campaigners have said this week that growth of Robin Hood Airport could threaten valuable local countryside. They are calling on Doncaster Council to expand the green belt to protect the countryside.
The South Yorkshire branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) is holding a public meeting next week as part of its campaign for areas in the east of the borough to be protected from large-scale development. A spokesman said: 'When the existing Green Belt was established, the main development pressure was to the west of Doncaster. This is no longer the case.'
'In the light of the expansion of Robin Hood Airport and promotion of development along the M18 corridor, it is essential to fully protect valuable countryside to the east of the town so that development doesn't lead to urban sprawl.'
At a meeting, to be held at the YMCA in Wood Street, Doncaster, from 19:00 next Thursday (December 8), the CPRE want to find out the views of people living in the borough, along with the opinions of conservationists and environmental organisations.
Doncaster Deputy Mayor Aidan Rave said the council was currently developing a new Local Development Framework, which will set out schemes that should be allowed in Doncaster in the future.
Consideration will also be given to requests for further land to be allocated for protection as green belt. He said: 'We are hoping to strike a balance between economic prosperity and protecting the environment.'
