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09
Oct
Infrastructure concerns fail to halt another 480 homes in Harrogate
Councillors have unanimously approved an application to build another 480 homes in Harrogate.
The Gladman Developments scheme is part of wider plans to construct 4,000 homes in the west of Harrogate by 2035.
Residents raised numerous concerns about infrastructure before the project was agreed unanimously by North Yorkshire Council’s 15-person strategic planning committee, which determines major developments in the county. A video of the meeting is available here.
David Siddans, secretary of Harrogate and Pannal Ash Residents Association, told yesterday's meeting his thoughts could be summed up in two words: “infrastructure” and “infrastructure”.
Mr Siddans, who has worked in transport planning and engineering, said:
We don’t oppose the housing but we strongly object to the strategic infrastructure package that is supposed to support it. The current infrastructure in this part of Harrogate, as it is, cannot support the development of up to 4,000 new dwellings.
It’s clearly important to deliver the housing the country needs but it’s equally important to provide the right infrastructure to protect the community and enable the town to prosper.
He added it was “fanciful” to suggest one bus every half hour would reduce car travel and urged councillors to defer a decision until the transport strategy for the area was reviewed.
The development forms part of the H51 new housing area.
A representative from Haverah Park with Beckwithshaw Parish Council raised similar concerns, saying the application included “no provision for GP or dental surgeries” in the parish or any guarantees that the proposed mitigation measures to compensate for the development would actually be carried out.
They said:
Currently we have no safe crossing point or traffic calming points within the village. Discussions taken today will have an impact on the quality of lives of residents going forward.
Yesterday's strategic planning committee meeting.
Councillor John Mann, a Conservative who represents Oatlands and Pannal, called for the scheme to be rejected because of the lack of infrastructure and described the proposed bus services for the new development as “wholly inadequate”.
'Benefits outweigh harm'
Diana Richardson, head of planning at Gladwin Developments, highlighted how payments made by the company to the council in the form of a section 106 legal agreement to compensate for the infrastructure associated with the scheme would have considerable local impact.
They include £8.3 million towards highways, £2.4 million for the construction of a new primary school and £1.6 million for the expansion of current secondary schools.
The NHS has requested £394,061 to provide the additional healthcare facilities generated by the needs of the development and £1,068,846 is set to go towards the provision of off-site football, cricket and rugby pitches.
Case officer Gerard Walsh wrote in his report to councillors before the meeting:
Having regard to the overall planning balance, it is considered that the benefits of the proposal outweigh any identified harm. The proposed development is considered to be sustainable, and the recommendation is therefore that planning permission be granted subject to conditions listed below and completion of a section 106 agreement.
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