It is with huge regret that we have decided not to proceed to the next stage with our legal case against the City of York Council.

Although we have raised a substantial sum of money from local residents through our crowdfunding page and our group of core backers, we are still a long way off from raising the funds we need to take us through to the next stage of applying to the court for a judicial review.

Given the risk that we might not be granted permission to proceed or succeed in overturning the decision, I have decided that it isn’t fair to ask the community to contribute further during these difficult times.

But this is not the end. The information we’ve gained from seeking legal advice and instigating the judicial review process has been invaluable and we will make use of this to pursue other avenues available to us. We will continue to campaign for local communities to be at the heart of the City of York’s planning process.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the level of support for our campaign and am so grateful for the generosity local people have shown in donating what they could afford to our campaign, particularly given the growing pressures on household budgets due to the cost-of-living crisis.

It is really disappointing that a publicly-owned body like the National Railway Museum was not prepared to implement a design that would unite both sides of the museum, while retaining a pedestrian and cycleway along the route of Leeman Road.

Residents are sick and tired of commercial interests being put ahead of those of the local community, as is evident from the wide-spread support given to our campaign.

I hope that you will continue to support our campaign to seek justice for the Leeman Road community as we explore alternative ways to challenge the Council.

Thank you so much for donating to Justice for Leeman Road. We’re delighted to have reached our initial £5,000 target in just five days!

We're bowled over by the generosity of local people and heartened by the support being shown for our community campaign. The funds raised to date will cover the cost of sending the pre-action letter, which begins the legal process for a judicial review. A pre-action letter was sent to the City of York Council on 31 August, and it has 14 days to reply. 

We are confident we have a good case and now need to continue to raise funds to pursue the judicial review through to the next stages.

It is clear from the comments we’re received that residents of York are sick of being ignored by the council’s planning process. Too often commercial interests are put before those of the local community. This must change.