Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
10
Dec 2020
Green Hammerton gets final approval for 3,000-home settlement
The long-running saga over where to build a 3,000-home settlement in the Harrogate district appears to be over, with Green Hammerton selected ahead of Flaxby.
Harrogate Borough Council last night voted to adopt its Local Plan, the planning blueprint for the district, which includes Green Hammerton as the site of the new settlement.
It was the second time the council voted on the matter, after a High Court judge last month ordered it to do so again.
Just like last time, the full council voted in favour of Green Hammerton, this time by a near-unanimous decision.
This appears to have ended any hopes of building at Flaxby, near the A1.
Nick Brown, Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton and Newby, was the only person to vote against the recommendation.
Cllr Brown said he felt Flaxby was a more sustainable option and he would therefore vote against the Local Plan. He said:
Norman Waller, Conservative councillor for Marston Moor, abstained.
High Court battle
Mr Justice Holgate ordered the re-vote after a three-day judicial review between the council and Flaxby Park Ltd, which planned to build on the former Flaxby golf course.
The judge ruled in the council’s favour by saying the decision to select Green Hammerton did not have to be made again.
But he said the council had to vote again to adopt its Local Plan after considering a report known as a strategic environmental assessment, which was not put before the full council when the plan was first adopted in March 2020.
The judge said this "legal flaw" invalidated the adoption of the Local Plan.
Before the vote, cabinet member for planning councillor Tim Myatt conceded that Flaxby Park Ltd "landed a punch" on the issue of the strategic environmental assessment, but he added it was a "procedural error" that could be rectified.
Read more:
Could Flaxby now become a 400-lodge eco-resort?
Flaxby fails to stop Green Hammerton development at High Court
He said he hoped councillors "share my regret" that they were being asked to vote on the Local Plan again, after less than a year.
He added:
Now councillors are satisfied the report would not have affected their decision to choose Green Hammerton over Flaxby, it should finally put to bed the question of where the new settlement will be built.
A public consultation on options for the Green Hammerton / Cattal settlement will run until January 22.
0