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06
Apr 2022
Harrogate council to pay Leon developer £25,000 in appeal costs
Harrogate Borough Council has agreed to pay developers behind a planned Leon drive-thru on Wetherby Road £25,000 for appeal costs.
The authority had been in discussions with Blackburn-based Euro Garages after it took the council to appeal over its decision to refuse the proposal.
In July 2021, a government planning inspector granted permission for the new drive-thru, which was initially proposed to be a Starbucks.
Helen Hockenhull, the inspector who approved the plan, awarded costs against the council after it “demonstrated unreasonable behaviour”.
A spokesperson for the council confirmed that it had agreed to pay Euro Garages £25,000 as part of the appeal cost.
The spokesman said:
Read more:
- New Harrogate Leon set to open early May
- Harrogate council ‘demonstrated unreasonable behaviour’ over Starbucks rejection, says inspector
The council turned down the development back in 2019 on air quality and highways grounds, but later withdrew its objection and did not defend itself at the appeal hearing.
Speaking in May 2021, John Worthington, the council’s executive officer for development management, said officers could not stand successfully at appeal because their previous recommendation would “undermine” their case and that losing also risked legal costs of over £50,000.
The move forced residents fighting the proposal to defend the authority’s reasons for refusal themselves at the hearing.
Ms Hockenhull said she understood concerns from residents, but added that she was not convinced that the development would cause “significant harm”.
In a decision notice last year, she said:
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