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19
Dec
Concern over 'perilous' access to 83-home Harrogate site
Concerns have been raised over “perilous” access to a planned 83-home scheme on Whinney Lane in Harrogate.
Property consultants Carter Jonas lodged the proposals to North Yorkshire Council on behalf of Quarters Life Ltd, which is based in Kettlesing, in April.
The move would see the homes built on land east of Whinney Lane, near to the Squinting Cat pub.
The site, known as H70 in the Harrogate District Local Plan, spans 4.59 hectares and has an “indicative yield” of 230 homes, according to the proposals.
However, councillors have raised concerns over the access to the site, which would be between the Squinting Cat car park and nearby residential properties.
The access point between the Squinting Cat car park and residential properties.
The developer has proposed widening Whinney Lane and reducing the speed limit to 30mph outside the access to the site.
But Cllr Mark Warr, a Liberal Democrat who represents Pannal ward, told a Harrogate Town Council planning committee meeting on Wednesday (December 17) there were still concerns over the safety of the access.
He said:
It is still a perilous 90 degree turn. The gap between the [Squinting Cat] car park and the buildings is the access road, which is bizarre.
That is 83 houses worth of traffic going through that gap.
Cllr Warr added there were also concerns over increased construction traffic using Lady Lane and Whinney Lane.
He said his concerns over access remained unchanged from the last time that the committee considered the plan in November.
Councillors voted to object to the plan on the grounds of access, residential amenity and the construction impact on local highways.
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
West of Harrogate
The site would form one of a number of developments which are expected to bring 4,000 new homes to the west of Harrogate.
Multiple schemes are being built or awaiting planning permission in the area, including schemes on Otley Road, Whinney Lane and Yew Tree Lane.
Much of the housing was earmarked for the area in the Harrogate District Local Plan, which assessed a need for 16,077 new homes in the district up to 2035.
It means the west of Harrogate was projected to take nearly a quarter of the entire district's housing need.
However, a new North Yorkshire Local Plan, which will supersede the Harrogate plan, is currently being drawn and will identify land to accommodate new homes, jobs and associated infrastructure in the region over the next 20 years.
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