A new 70-home housing development on Kingsley Farm in Harrogate will contribute to a growing “nightmare” scenario for traffic on nearby Knaresborough Road, says a local residents group.
Over 600 homes will eventually be built in the Kingsley ward of Harrogate.
John Hansard from the Kingsley Ward Action Group told the Stray Ferret that the scale of development has led to a “tipping point” for congestion, which he said is affecting quality of life for locals and commuters using the busy Knaresborough Road.
Clogged with traffic
Stonebridge Homes has already built 60 homes at Kingsley Farm on Kingsley Drive and the developer is now preparing for phase two of the scheme, which received outline planning permission in 2019.
Next Tuesday, Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee will consider a reserved matters application for the proposals which deal with appearance, layout and access.
The developer has reduced the number of homes from 90 to 70, which it says “is in the interests of good design”.
However, Mr Hansard told the Stray Ferret that traffic from the development will still impact on Kingsley Drive, Bogs Lane and Knaresborough Road, with the latter regularly clogged with traffic.
He said:
“At Kingsley Farm there are too many houses, too close together. The extra traffic means quality of life has decreased for residents. It’s becoming an absolute nightmare.”
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In August 2020, the planning committee refused a different planning application for 149 homes in Kingsley, citing congestion as a reason for refusal.
Councillors said this was because the development would make already clogged roads in the area even worse.
‘Not severe’
The Stray Ferret asked Stonebridge Homes to comment but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.
In a transport assessment attached to the original planning application, transport consultants Sanderson concluded extra traffic generated through the homes would not be severe.
It said:
“The impact of the additional vehicle trips has been assessed at the key junctions on the local highway network and this has demonstrated that the effect of the generated traffic is not severe.”
