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24
Jan 2023
Harrogate councillors approve sixth Kingsley housing scheme
Harrogate Borough Council's planning committee has approved a sixth housing development in the Kingsley area after a heated debate today.
The committee was split 6-6 on whether to accept 30 new homes at Kingsley Farm. It meant Rebecca Burnett, the chair of the committee, had the casting vote in favour.
It means more than 600 properties will be built in the Kingsley ward, where residents have already expressed exasperation at the scale of development and lack of supporting infrastructure.
Most of today's debate centred on access to the site even though council case officer Kate Broadbank said the meeting should focus on the general principle of development. Access, she said, would be debated at the later reserved matters application for ironing out the details.
Ms Broadbank said there would be access roads to the development from Kingsley Road and Hawthorn Place. Creating the access road on Kingsley Road would, she said, require the removal of a stone wall and a 'small number of trees', which she said would be replaced.
Cllr Chris Aldred speaking today
Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents the area on North Yorkshire County Council, said the new access road on Kingsley Road would go through an orchard and mean there would be five junctions in the space of 150 yards.
He called for the decision to be deferred, adding:
A local resident, Matt Hodgson, told the committee "access remains crucial at this stage when discussing the suitability of the site".
'We have listened'
Speaking on behalf of the applicant Quarters Kingsley Ltd, David Williams said it was a small local developer working alongside the landowner, who has owned the site for 100 years.
Mr Williams said it was a former chicken farm that had become an "overgrown wasteland" that had "no purpose"
David Williams speaking at the meeting
He said the applicants had already agreed to reduce the number of home from 49 to 30, adding:
Doctors and dentists
Pat Marsh, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Harrogate Hookstone asked if there would be any increased provision for doctors and dentists in the area.
Ms Broadbank said ‘there will be a contribution’ through the section 106 agreement which developers sign to pay for infrastructure associated with their schemes but where it was allocated would be a matter for the NHS.
Read more:
- Council recommends controversial Kingsley Farm homes be approved
- Kingsley residents call for halt to new housing decisions
All six councillors in favour of the scheme were Conservatives. Three Liberal Democrats, two Conservatives and one Independent opposed the recommendation to approve the principle of development on the land.
After the scheme was approved, Cllr Burnett berated Cllr Marsh for saying 'shameful'.
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