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    07

    Sept 2020

    Last Updated: 07/09/2020
    Harrogate
    Harrogate

    Council to appoint external consultant for Harlow Nurseries housing

    by Thomas Barrett

    | 07 Sept, 2020
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    Harrogate Borough Council wants to dip into its reserves to pay for an external consultant who would help develop three council-owned sites, including at Harlow Nurseries next to the Pinewoods where 40 homes are planned.

    nurseriesss
    The Harlow Hill nursery site.

    Harrogate Borough Council wants to dip into its reserves to pay for an external consultant who would help develop three council-owned sites, including at Harlow Nurseries next to the Pinewoods where 40 homes are mooted.

    A report is due to go before HBC's cabinet on Wednesday that says the consultant would explore "quality place-making" on the sites and would assess options for how they could deliver the housing and employment needs of the district. The report does not say how much the external consultant would cost.

    The three sites are at Harlow Nurseries, Dragon Road car park and land south of Almsford Bridge in Pannal. They have all been designated within the council's Local Plan, which says where development will happen in the district over the next 14 years.

    Harlow Nurseries sells council plants, pots and compost to the public, but would be relocated to another location if the housing went ahead.

    Earlier this year, Harrogate Borough Council asked residents their views about Harlow Nurseries, with one respondent saying "it would be a very, very sad day if the site was sold off for housing."




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    At Harlow Nurseries, a condition of development is that it must provide "appropriate mitigation and compensation" to reduce any adverse environmental impacts on the Pinewoods, which is 96 acres of council-owned woodland adjacent to the site.

    A spokesperson for the Pinewoods Conservation Group told the Stray Ferret:

    "The development of the Nursery site adjacent to The Pinewoods was inevitable after its inclusion in the recently approved local plan. This will see further enclosure of The Pinewoods and the likely loss of many trees within the nursery site if the 40 houses are built. It is also a key access point for many residents and visitors that could be at risk as part of any major development.
    "This is one the group will monitor over the next year and we can only hope that the council, and its appointed consultant, will look to engage with us on the site's future."