The developers behind a planned new town of up to 4,000 homes said they “remain confident” the project will go ahead, despite one of the landowners pulling out.
Caddick Group, which has submitted plans for a settlement called Maltkiln near Cattal, said it is continuing to work with other landowners and local authorities on the project.
It comes after Harrogate Borough Council announced yesterday it was “pausing” its work to submit a development plan document (DPD) to the Secretary of State for a new settlement in the area because one of the pieces of land was no longer available.
A spokesperson for Caddick Group said:
“As with most large and complex developments, the proposed new settlement at Maltkiln involves several landowners and we have been working with them for a number of years.
“It is regrettable that one of the landowners has now expressed their intention to withdraw their support for the development. However, we continue to have positive relationships with the other landowners and we remain confident that development can progress in accordance with the policy objectives of Harrogate Borough Council’s Development Plan Document for the new settlement.
“The Maltkiln site was established as the preferred option by Harrogate Borough Council based on its location, accessibility and relative freedom from constraints.
“In parallel with the council’s DPD process, we have undertaken thorough community and stakeholder consultation as part of defining our proposals to deliver much needed new housing and associated amenities for this part of North Yorkshire.
“We intend to continue a positive dialogue with all the landowners in the vicinity of our site and any updated proposals will be publicised after we have discussed with the borough and county councils how the amended site area may best be developed in accordance with the proposed DPD.”
Caddick put forward plans last year for two primary schools, a GP surgery and shops as part of its proposal. It also said the homes would be built to “very high environmental standards” with communal air and ground source heat pumps, solar power generation and electric vehicle charging points in every home.
Several “mobility hubs” are planned to offer fast charging for vehicles as well as repairs and storage for e-scooters and bicycles, and flexible working spaces available to hire.
Read more:
- New settlement plans ‘paused’ after land withdrawn near Cattal
- Concern over lack of secondary school at new Harrogate district town
Cllr Arnold Warneken, whose Ouseburn division includes the proposed site, said he was concerned that changes to the land available could impact the viability of the whole development.
The Green Party councillor said he was “not surprised” one of the landowners had pulled out, as any of them could be considering other uses for their land that might be “more viable”. He added:
“I’m not surprised but I’m concerned about the impact that might have on the rest of the development.
“My concern is that the viability would be an excuse for changing the specification to not being an exemplar for carbon neutrality and so on. At some point, we could end up with a developer wanting a standard housing estate.”
Cllr Warneken said he would work to bring together all the affected parish councils in the area again to discuss any changes to the proposals as a result of the piece of land being withdrawn.
