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08
Feb 2024
Council’s approach to Maltkiln has left locals feeling ‘bullied and threatened’
North Yorkshire Council has been strongly criticised for its approach to the 4,000-home Maltkiln scheme with a Cattal resident claiming it has left locals feeling “bullied, threatened and let down”.
The council’s Conservative-run executive met on Tuesday in Northallerton to discuss Maltkiln’s development plan document which is set to be submitted to the secretary of state for housing later this month.
The meeting was attended by several parish councillors living in villages affected by the development including Green Hammerton, Cattal, Whixley and Kirk Hammerton.
They took turns to tell the executive how they felt the council has handled consultation around the development plan document.
As the site is the largest allocation for housing in the Harrogate district local plan, the council has a major say on how the scheme is developed. Wetherby-based developer Caddick Group has been chosen to build and sell the homes.
Martin Simpson, chair of Green Hammerton Parish Council, said aspirations to include 40% affordable housing as part of the development were “pie in the sky” and claimed council officers had been led by the commercial interests of developer Caddick. He said:
Harrogate Borough Council worked on the development plan document for several years before handing it over to the unitary authority due to local government reorganisation.
Whixley parish councillor Cokie Van Der Velde said the council had ignored a transport assessment that suggested the busy A59 between Maltkiln and the A1 (M) will need to become a dual carriageway to cope with an increase in traffic.
She said:
Kevin Bramley from Hunsingore, Walshford with Great Ribston and Cattal Parish Council, said the council had “disadvantaged” local communities through a perceived lack of public engagement regarding the development plan document.
He said:
Cllr Derek Bastiman, the council's executive member for business, was put forward to respond to the complaints and he issued a strong rebuttal to the claim that Maltkiln was a developer-led scheme, adding this was “entirely without foundation”.
He said:
Regarding the potential dualling of the A59, Cllr Bastiman said:
Cllr Bastiman also rejected a request from Cllr Arnold Warneken (Green Party, Ouseburn) to delay the submission of the development plan document by two months to allow for further consultation with communities. He added:
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