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12
Dec 2021
In Depth: Where is the infrastructure plan for 4,000 homes in west Harrogate?
With as many as 4,000 homes planned for the Western side of Harrogate, a document is being drawn up by Harrogate Borough Council to nail down the infrastructure requirements of the area and who will pay for it.
HBC is working with developers and North Yorkshire County Council on the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP). It will aim to allow for a more joined-up approach to infrastructure, including addressing roads and traffic, rather than assessment on a site-by-site basis.
But residents and councillors have grown frustrated with broken promises about when it will be published.
HBC initially said it would be published in October 2020, which was delayed until March 2021, then September 2021. It now says a draft version will be published in February 2022.
Harlow Hill, Rossett, and Pannal Ash are already some of the most popular residential areas in Harrogate and the stretch of Otley Road from Cardale Park to Beckwithshaw is set to be transformed with new housing developments.
However, the 200-home police training centre scheme in Yew Tree Lane was passed this week before the WHPP has seen the light of day.
Rene Dziabas, chair of Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association, told the Stray Ferret he is concerned that the decision not to wait until the plan is published before approving the police training centre scheme will set a precedent.
With a new local authority set to be created for North Yorkshire next year, he's also worried the plan could be kicked down the road further. He believes staffing issues in the council's planning department has contributed to the delays.
He said:
HAPARA is hoping the plan will go some way to tackling congestion and traffic on the west side of Harrogate, which could worsen considerably due to car-dependent housing developments.
He gave some examples of areas that he feels needs improvement:
Poor communications
HAPARA has been unhappy with the level of consultation offered to residents by HBC during the process.
Mr Dziabas said the council has "confused contact and communications" and people who will be affected by the massive expansion of new housing have not felt like active participants in how the area will change.
He said:
Mr Dziabas added:
'Very frustrating'
Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh sits on the 12 person planning committee that decides whether to approve or refuse large housing schemes.
She told the Stray Ferret it has been "very, very frustrating" that councillors are now being asked by officers to approve planning applications in the western side of Harrogate before the WHPP has been published.
She believes the majority of councillors wanted to defer the police training centre scheme until the plan is published, but were "bullied" into approving it by Homes England who threatened legal action.
She said the plan should have been drawn up years ago, before sites were allocated for development in the Local Plan, and that she shoulders some of the blame for that.
Cllr Marsh is concerned that even with the WHPP in place, it will be the houses that get built first and the necessary infrastructure such as schools or healthcare facilities could take years to follow.
Read more:
- Consultation launched for 480 homes on Harrogate’s Otley Road
- Homes England accused of ‘bullying’ tactics over 200 homes at Pannal Ash
Council's response
In a written statement sent to the Stray Ferret, Conservative councillor Tim Myatt, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for planning, said the WHPP will create a "clear vision" for infrastructure in west Harrogate.
He said "rather than rush" the council has been making sure the document is right for the town.
In response to HAPARA's claim that residents had not been consulted, Cllr Myatt said several suggestions from residents have helped to shape the document.
He added:
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