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25
Mar
Is the Glasshouses Mill housing development finally on the road to completion?
The second phase of development at Glasshouses Mill looks set to be approved next week.
Glasshouses 123 Ltd, which is a subsidiary of development firm Newby Homes, is behind the 50-home project. The mill's owner, Chris Hawkesworth, is also a director of Glasshouses 123.
The company started work one the first phase of the development in 2016, but the second phase is still yet to be approved.
The developer had hoped members of North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon planning committee would approve plans to begin phase two last September. However, councillors deferred the decision following concerns about overdue section 106 payments.
Developers pay section 106 legal agreements to mitigate the impact of the development. In this instance, Glasshouses 123 is obliged to pay around £264,000 towards education, open spaces and a village hall.
Councillors asked for further details to be put forward by the developer on how it would ensure the payments to the council would be honoured before more homes are built, and requested a financial appraisal and an energy and sustainability statement be provided in the meantime.
According to a recent 33-page report by council officer, Andy Hough, 30 out of the 50 homes have been built, but the first two instalments of the section 106 agreement have not yet been paid.
At last year’s meeting, a planning agent told committee members a series of unexpected events – including Brexit, covid and conflict between Russia and Ukraine – had led to the developers struggling to make a profit.
Mr Hough also told councillors at the time that three different viability assessments, which were all independently verified, concluded the scheme would only become profitable in phase two due to the unprecedented issues.
But, there appears to be light at the end of the long tunnel for Glasshouses 123, as work to begin phase two of the development has been recommended for approval ahead of next week’s planning committee.
New section 106 agreement
According to the report, the amounts owed to local services and the triggers for the money to be released have been amended.
It says the developers are now obliged to pay £139,359 to education services before the 33rd dwelling has been occupied.
£61,800 will be go towards open spaces and £63,170 will be paid towards a village hall before the 42nd property is taken on.
The original section 106 agreement also required a village shop at the site to be up and running prior to phase two commencing. However, no one has taken on the commercial opportunity.
The report says:
The S106 agreement required the provision of a village shop prior to the occupation of the 31st dwelling on the site. The shop was required to have been wholly subsidised for a period of two years from the date of opening. Your officers are aware that although interest has been expressed in the premises this has not resulted in the operation of the business.
As a result, the report states the obligation for the shop to be open for trading before the 31st property is built has been removed. Instead, the developer is now required to advertise the unit for a 12-month period in line with an approved marketing strategy.
"If no interest is forthcoming then alternative uses will be considered as part of any future planning consent," it adds.
Mr Hawkesworth last year town Pateley Town Council the payments had been missed due to “unexpected costs involved in removing asbestos and artefacts, which had to be saved due to it being a listed building”.
But, he promised councillors the money would be paid "the minute the first spade hit the ground" for phase two.
He later told the Stray Ferret the section 106 money would “absolutely” have been paid had the unexpected obstacles not occurred.
A visual of phase 1 of the Glasshouses Mill development. Credit: Newby Homes.
Changes to development
According to the report, the developers also wish to make some amendments to the plans.
Glasshouses 123 is looking to convert a warehouse at the site into six three-bedroom properties, as opposed to the original five.
The report says a stable block at the site was originally going to be used to create four offices, but the developer is seeking approval to convert it into two residential units.
The new build element of the development would also be relocated on-site, which the report says is considered to be an improvement to the original layout, and would house ten dwellings instead of the approved six if plans are approved.
Mr Hough's report recommends the application be permitted.
North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon area committee will consider the application in Pateley Bridge next Tuesday (April 1).
Pateley Town Council is holding an "extraordinary meeting" tonight (March 25). According to the short agenda, councillors will formulate and finalise a statement that "reflects the view of the council" of the application, which will be read out at next week's meeting.
Mr Hough's report includes Pateley Town Council's response to the application:
Pateley Bridge Town Council (PBTC) have no objection to the amendments to the revised design of the new build but objects to the application. PBTC agrees that Phase 1 needs to be completed to the exact specification detailed in previous planning approvals prior to the commencement of phase 2.
PBTC objects to the attempt to alter and downgrade the phase 1 planning conditions and specification as part of this phase 2 application. A condition needs to be imposed on the developer requiring the release of the S106 money (or a very significant instalment thereof) to the community prior to commencement of phase 2.
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