People hospitalised after two-vehicle crash in village near Pateley BridgeRipon Museums Trust awarded £261,000 grant to expand exhibition offeringsOvernight closures on A1(M) near Harrogate next monthRoad blocked after tree down on Harrogate’s Leadhall LanePlans approved to convert former Harrogate working men’s club into flatsElectric vehicle charging points to be installed at Knaresborough retail parkHarrogate trains to offer increased capacity from this weekendIllegal traveller encampment arrives at Harrogate parkCouncillors back plans for 76 homes near Knaresborough

Councillors today backed plans to build 76 homes in a village between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.

The application, which was initially tabled to North Yorkshire Council in January 2023, was put before the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee this afternoon.

Applicant Thomas Alexander Homes proposes to build a mixture of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses on Minskip Road in Staveley.

The site would include one, two, three, four and five-bedroom homes – 30 of which would be classed as affordable housing. There would also be three “accessible bungalows”.

A computer-generated image of the proposed development.

However, the final decision is still yet to be made.

Councillors voted in favour of the recommendation, which suggested the application be delegated to the assistant director of planning, who will decide on the outcome in consultation with committee chair, councillor John Mann (Conservative), and vice-chair, councillor Chris Aldred (Liberal Democrat).

They will negotiate and finalise the conditions of the section 106 agreement, in which the developers agree to pay costs to mitigate for the impact of development. This will include contributions towards affordable housing, travel plans, education provision, the village hall and more.

Of the five councillors present, three voted in favour of the recommendation, one voted against and one abstained.

Proposed site plan of the Minskip Road development.

If approved, the applicant said the development will provide “energy efficient buildings” and would promote use of “sustainable transport” through nearby bus services to Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Boroughbridge.

The plans also suggest it would offer “positive economic growth” for Staveley and the surrounding areas through “construction and occupation”.

But the application has not come without scrutiny and has received 184 objections since submission.

Councillors also today raised concern about the potential presence of gypsum at the site, which can dissolve at the surface and underground, ultimately leading to sinkholes.

However, a ground investigation report by Edlington Consulting Group Ltd submitted on behalf of the applicant concludes there is “no direct evidence of bedrock dissolution and its related displacement of the superficial coarse-grained soils beneath the northern-most anomaly”.

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Land train runs into lamppost in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

A land train, which is part of a funfair in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens, pranged a lamppost on its first trip of the event today.

Fun in the Park, which opened at 11am today, offers family-friendly entertainment, rides and street food during this bank holiday weekend and half-term.

But the Magical Express, which takes people to-and-from the entrance of the gardens, ran into some bother when trying to negotiate a bend.

A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret they suspected the driver “misjudged how big the front of the train was” when turning a corner, before hitting a lamppost. They added:

“Fortunately, no one was hurt.”

The source also said the event “got off to a rocky start” due to issues with the generator.

They continued:

“There were problems with the generator first thing, which meant all the rides opened late. Once they did open, this train incident happened on its first lap round!”

The event, which is running daily from today and throughout next week’s school half-term holiday, is operated by Northallerton-based Crow Leisure Group Ltd.

It is the first time the company has held an event in Harrogate.

The land train. Pic: Crow Leisure Ltd.

The Stray Ferret contacted founder and chief executive, Alex Crow, about the train mishap.

Mr Crow said it was the “first time” the driver had operated the train around the Valley Gardens with passengers, adding:

“The corner seemed tight.

“The driver reversed back and drove forward again. No one was injured and there’s no damage to the train.

“We have now put mats down on the left side to allow it to make a wider turn.”

Mr Crow also said the train was taken for two practice runs around Valley Gardens this morning and five practice runs yesterday without people onboard.

When asked about problems with the generator, Mr Crow added it “needed a filter change”, which he claims has now been sorted.

He said:

“Everything is running smoothly now. People have said they’re really enjoying the event.”

The event is free to enter but rides come with a charge.

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