The government’s Planning Inspectorate has overturned a Harrogate Borough Council decision to refuse 149 homes on Kingsley Road near to Harrogate High School.
In August 2020, HBC’s planning committee voted by 10 to 1 to refuse the application because they said it would make already clogged roads in the area even worse.
At the time, councillors also agreed that a 1km walk to the nearest bus stop was not practical for elderly people or families carrying shopping.
Developer Richborough Estates appealed the decision which was overturned earlier this week.
An inspector from the Planning Inspectorate, the government agency that deals with appeals, said HBC councillors “behaved unreasonably” in reaching its conclusion. They also highlighted the fact the site was already designated for development within HBC’s Local Plan.
Read more:
-
New housing contributing to ‘nightmare’ traffic on Knaresborough Road
-
One-way system in Kingsley will lead to ‘horrendous’ congestion
The inspector A M Nillson disagreed that the nearest bus stop was too far away for residents:
“I do not consider that future residents would be discouraged from accessing bus stops and local services and facilities on Knaresborough Road on foot.”
The council has also been ordered to pay the developer’s legal costs.
Local resident Gary Tremble from the Kingsley Ward Action Group criticised the decision to overturn the appeal. He said: “How can someone believe this is a sensible place to build housing?”.
Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh, who sits on the planning committee and voted against the development, said she was “fuming” and “outraged” at the planning inspectorate’s decision.
A spokesperson for Richborough Estates said:
“The Planning Inspectorate has reviewed the appeal for land off Kingsley Road and decided in our favour.”
