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:
“If it’s delayed any further there will be the temptation to let the new unitary authority deal with it. That’s a concern.”
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.
“We’d like to see greater frequency of buses, junction improvements, the widening of pavements, cycle paths.
“Subject to appropriate investment, we can then start making improvements, otherwise why are you doing the plan?
He gave some examples of areas that he feels needs improvement:
“Leadhall Lane Marks and Spencers junction is known to be a pinch point, some work needs to be done there to help flow of traffic.
“The Prince of Wales roundabout is another pinch point as is other end of Otley Road and the tiny roundabout in Beckwithshaw.”
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:
“Not once has the council come back to us and said, ‘This is what we’re thinking, how do you feel this would work?’
“We’ve had no opportunity, all we’ve had from council is process. Communication has been poor.”
Mr Dziabas added:
“Perhaps the council feel if they involve residents too much it will slow the process down, or we might put an idea forward that doesn’t align with what a developer is saying.
“In their mind it might be a lot of extra hard work dealing with the nitty gritty with residents, so they keep us at arm’s length.”
‘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.
“It should have been in place prior to the Local Plan. I’ll hold my hand up for not realising that. Infrastucture is not being dealt with now.”
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.
“It will be the houses that get built first to make the money.”
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.
“By providing first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities, for example, we will be able to achieve the WHPPs goals and objectives.
“A significant amount of work – by qualified experts – has gone into what has been produced so far and we will continue to work hard until we’re comfortable we can achieve the best outcome in terms of quality of development and delivery of infrastructure.
“Rather than rush and produce a plan that fails to deliver this vision, we are taking a planned and strategic approach and anticipate concluding work on the WHPP in the New Year alongside an addendum to the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) thereafter.”
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:
“Although there is no statutory requirement to consult on the preparation of the WHPP, we value residents’ views.
“And a number of suggestions have helped shaped the WHPP, so I’d like to thank those residents for their valuable feedback.
“We will also engage with local stakeholders, of which HAPARA is one, in January to help achieve a WHPP that sets a benchmark for future communities across the Harrogate district.”
