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Feb 2021

Last Updated: 16/02/2021

Environment

'Build affordable housing at Harlow Nurseries'

by Thomas Barrett

| 15 Feb, 2021

Harrogate Borough Council has plans to build 40 homes on the site. But Harrogate Community Land Trust fears the development will be too expensive for most people and wants to be given the chance to provide affordable homes.

Harrogate Community Land Trust has appealed for the chance to develop affordable housing on the Harlow Nurseries site.

Harlow Nurseries, next to the Pinewoods, is owned by Harrogate Borough Council and sells plants, pots and compost to the public.

However, the council’s Local Plan says 40 homes can be built on the site. The nursery will relocate if the development goes ahead.

The council has appointed three external consultants to draw up plans for the site before the end of the year.

But Harrogate CLT, which wants to develop homes to meet community needs, such as affordable housing or low-carbon housing, fears whatever is proposed will be too expensive for most people.

Sarah Hart, who helped to create Harrogate CLT four years ago after becoming demoralised with the cost of housing in the town, urged the council to consider selling Harlow Nurseries to it rather than a private developer.

Ms Hart thinks Harrogate CLT, which has 39 individual members, could provide homes the current property market does not cater for.

Harrogate Borough Council requires developers to include 40% affordable housing, which includes social housing, shared ownership schemes, and homes sold at lower than the market rate.

But Ms Hart said these options are still out of reach for too many people, forcing some to move outside of the district.

Council moves forward with controversial plans for Harlow Nurseries housing

Calls for community involvement in Harlow Nurseries housing

Highly sensitive development

Any housing on the popular Harlow Nurseries site is likely to be controversial, especially after the local community recently rallied against Harrogate Spring Water's controversial expansion plans into Rotary Wood.

Ms Hart says the "highly sensitive" nature of any development made it ideal for community-led housing that put the needs of local people first.

Her vision is to create homes for older people who want to downsize, people at the end of the council's social housing waiting list, and people trapped in the private rented sector due to high rents.

She added:

"If you do housing from the bottom up you can find out what people really need.

"You hear people's frustrations [about Harlow Nurseries]. So instead of being against a development, it's better to bring people along"

Flagship scheme

Last week the local Green Party also suggested a housing development at Harlow Nurseries could be Harrogate’s flagship community-led housing scheme.

Residents in community-led housing schemes govern themselves to keep housing affordable in perpetuity.

A well-known local example is LILAC, which is a community of 20 eco-build households in west Leeds.

Raising capital to buy the Harlow Nurseries site would be a hurdle for Harrogate CLT.

Ms Hart said the group was in discussions with a local housebuilding company about working in partnership on the scheme.

She added she wanted Harrogate CLT to be "around the table" with the council before the land is sold.

A council spokesperson said:

“We have now appointed a specialist to progress with masterplanning work on the three strategic sites allocated in our Local Plan.

“We will be working closely with them to engage with and involve key stakeholders and local groups to ensure we create the right type of communities for existing and future residents of the Harrogate district.”

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'Build affordable housing at Harlow Nurseries'

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Highly sensitive development

Flagship scheme