A scuba diving business owner has said plans for a deep diving facility in Knaresborough have been “woefully misunderstood” after the proposals were rejected.
Tim Yarrow, who owns Harrogate-based Diveshack, had planned to build the training pool facility on Thistle Hill.
However, Harrogate Borough Council rejected the plan on the grounds that the proposal would “result in harm to the visual and spatial openness of the green belt”.
Mr Yarrow, who has been a scuba instructor around the world for 30 years, said his facility would have offered an opportunity for “potential local investment”.
He said:
“It is my opinion that the necessity and requirements of a specific training facility for scuba and all it brings with regards to potential further local investment, employment and potential career paths has been woefully misunderstood.”
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The plan would have seen the site at Thistle Hill changed from agricultural land to a deep water diving centre.
Mr Yarrow said that his club, which has been open since 2018, currently trains young and upcoming divers. He said the facility would help to expand this.
However, the council said in its decision notice that the facility was also outside the development limit of any village or settlement.
It said:
“The proposal is for a new tourism and recreational use however the application fails to demonstrate that there is a local need for the facility in this location, that the facility is of a scale and nature appropriate to its location and intended purpose, and that the facility is accessible to the community or catchment population it is intended to serve.”
