A SITE earmarked for 550 new homes could be removed from York’s Local Plan after a public body said the development may be harmful to a neighbouring nature reserve.

The Ministry of Defence has said it is due to close Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Strensall in 2021. The site would then be developed as homes under York’s draft Local Plan, which will guide future housing around the city.

But Natural England says building homes at the site would have an “adverse impact” on neighbouring Strensall Common.

The organisation said it had fears about dogs worrying sheep and cattle at the site, which causes problems for the land by disrupting grazing. They added there could be a 24 per cent increase in people visiting the nature reserve if the housing plans go ahead and the number of dogs would also rise.

Cllr Paul Doughty said he shares Natural England’s worries but he has concerns over the future of the barracks, adding: “Removal of the barracks site as housing will not compromise the viability of the plan given that the plan’s housing numbers would still meet national housing number guidelines.

“However at this point in time there is now a real question as to what will happen to this site.

“Cllr Wiseman and I would of course welcome any change of heart from the Ministry of Defence to retain this land in its present use, although this would appear unlikely. Without speculating too extensively about the future of the property we are adamant that, whatever happens, the site is not abandoned for any length of time, leaving it open to vandals and crime.”

The report will be discussed at the Local Plan Working Group on Wednesday at 5.30pm at West Offices.

A council spokesman said: “The reason for the removal of the housing site allocation follows a recent visitor survey commissioned by City of York Council - supported by Natural England. This highlighted that there would be significant effects on the integrity of the Strensall Common, a protected site, if the proposed housing sites adjacent to the common remain in the Local Plan.

“It is considered that the current plans housing supply can be robustly demonstrated to meet the revised Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAN) of 790 dwellings per annum.”

York’s draft local Plan is currently under review by the government inspectorate.