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11
Mar
'Enough is enough': Councillor launches campaign against further housing in west of Harrogate
A councillor has launched a campaign against more housebuilding in the west of Harrogate.
Cllr John Mann, Conservative councillor for Oatlands and Pannal on North Yorkshire Council, has said the area should not be allocated further housing under the council’s Local Plan.
The move comes as the council revealed potential housing land in the Harrogate area following a call for sites.
Among those put forward are three sites south of Pannal at the Buttersyke Bar roundabout. All of them have indicated residential land. Further land is also allocated in nearby Burn Bridge.
The land at Buttersyke Bar roundabout in Pannal, which is included in the potential housing sites map.
Cllr Mann has written to the council’s Conservative-run executive calling for a halt to any further development in the area.
He has also leafleted local residents in Pannal, Burn Bridge, Pannal Ash, Rossett Green and the Leadhalls area alerting them to the potential sites.
Cllr Mann said:
My view is that enough is enough. The west of Harrogate has already had its fair share [of housing].
I have written to and spoken with the council executive to call for a halt to further housing development in the west of Harrogate. Our roads, our schools and our NHS are already under immense strain — we can’t take anymore development.
It comes as up to 4,000 homes are being built or awaiting planning permission in the west of Harrogate, including schemes on Otley Road, Whinney Lane and Yew Tree Lane.
Much of the housing was earmarked for the area in the Harrogate District Local Plan, which assessed a need for 16,077 new homes in the district up to 2035.
However, the council is now under increased pressure to deliver more housing amid the Labour government’s housebuilding drive.
The Stray Ferret has reported extensively on the government’s new targets and how they will affect the Harrogate district, which you can read about here and here.
The reforms come at a time when the council is also drawing up a new Local Plan. Richard Flinton, chief executive of the council, claimed the hike in housing targets without a plan could leave the authority susceptible to "speculative" schemes.
As a result of the government’s changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, North Yorkshire’s housing need has increased to 4,077 a year — it had previously been 1,361.
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