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    07

    Dec 2022

    Last Updated: 06/12/2022
    Environment
    Environment

    New Harrogate district housing plan should not be 'tickbox exercise', says councillor

    by Calvin Robinson

    | 07 Dec, 2022
    Comment

    0

    building-site-houses-harlow-hill-grange-2
    Building houses in the west of Harrogate.

    A new plan for housing across the Harrogate district should not be treated as “a tickbox exercise”, says a local councillor.

    Senior councillors are set to back drawing up a new county-wide Local Plan ahead of the creation of North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

    The blueprint would look ahead for a minimum of 15 years, and at least 30 years in relation to any larger scale developments, such as new settlements or significant urban extensions. It would encompass all areas of the county outside the national parks.

    Cllr Arnold Warneken, a Green Party councillor on North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret that the document had to look at the “bigger picture”.

    He said the county council was in a position to be able to use the plan as a means of promoting sustainable homes, solar panels and affordable housing which is energy efficient.

    Cllr Warneken said:

    “We are not ticking boxes with this.
    “We have to think of this as a bigger picture. It’s not just a case of putting this plan in place, it needs to be at the forefront of it all.”





    Read more:



    • New housing plan to be created for Harrogate district

    • 793 Harrogate district second-home owners face double council tax charge





    Meanwhile, Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the North Yorkshire Independent group on the county council, said the plan should also include a ban on fracking.

    He added that the blueprint needs to take into account rural areas and health inequalities.

    North Yorkshire County Council will be recommended to approve creating a new county-wide strategy at a meeting of its executive on December 13.

    Cllr Matt Walker, Liberal Democrat councillor for Knaresborough West, said the move to create one plan was "common sense".

    He said:

    “It is just common sense that we would think again about how and where we develop now we are part of the new North Yorkshire authority.
    “Harrogate and Knaresborough has seen a huge amount of building in recent years. It has put too much strain on our roads and health services. We do need good affordable local housing, but we have to have the infrastructure to go with it. Now we are one authority, we need one local plan that addresses these issues.”


    Harrogate Town Council should oversee planning


    Chris Watt, vice-chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour party, said a Harrogate Town Council should be set up to oversee such planning matters.

    He said:

    “We need more genuinely affordable and sustainable homes, with proper provision of social housing and decent infrastructure.
    “With more empty business premises due to the Tories crashing the economy, we should also be looking to see if any of those can be turned into affordable accommodation for people struggling with the cost of living crisis.
    “We are concerned that without a new Harrogate Town Council in charge of these matters, decisions taken by the new North Yorkshire Council in Northallerton will ignore the needs of Harrogate and Knaresborough.”


    ConservatIve Cllr Simon Myers, executive member for housing and growth on the council, said the plan would help towards the council’s “ambitious targets” on climate change.

    He said:

    “The plan will be vital to the new North Yorkshire Council’s ambitions to deliver sustainable economic growth, through good homes and jobs, as well as the best facilities and infrastructure for everyone who lives or works in the county.
    “Planning guidance will also play a key role in meeting our ambitious targets to tackle climate change. In addition, it can support other services in meeting the needs of our many communities at a local level, taking into account everything from transport and education to housing, health and social care.”


    Harrogate district Local Plan set to be scrapped


    Harrogate Borough Council currently has its own Local Plan which outlines where development can take place across the district until 2035.

    It is due to be reviewed by 2025 but this looks set to be scrapped because of the creation of a new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council and the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council on April 1.

    However, a report to councillors who will decide whether to accept the recommendation says a review of the proposed Maltkiln development, which could see up to 4,000 homes built near Cattal, will continue as planned.