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17
Oct
‘Enough is enough’: villagers near Boroughbridge launch campaign against plans for 487 homes
Villagers near Boroughbridge have launched a campaign against three housing schemes in the area, which would see 487 homes built.
Residents of Langthorpe, Kirby Hill and Milby say their small rural communities are being overwhelmed by relentless expansion.
Developers, which include Caddick, Miller Homes and Gladman Developments have lodged the plans for three sites near Langthorpe and Kirby Hill.
Now, villagers have launched a Protect Our Village residents group to campaign against the plans.
Map of the sites near Langthorpe and Kirby Hill.
Locals warn the latest application, which is for 167 homes on Leeming Lane near Kirby Hill, would push the village to a 75% increase in size in just over a decade — without any matching investment in roads, drainage, schools or health services.
Steve Cove, a resident and part of the campaign group, said:
We already see sewage running down our streets and overflowing into the River Ure.
Even Yorkshire Water has objected, saying the network cannot cope with any more housing. To add hundreds of new properties is to invite a public health crisis.
There are also plans for 70 homes north of Kirby Hill, and Gladman Developments have planned 250 new homes near Langthorpe on Leeming Lane.
Villagers pictured in the one of the fields earmarked for housing.
Campaigners have argued that brownfield sites and other allocations have been overlooked, while developers are being "allowed to target green fields".
They also accuse planners of ignoring existing policies, including the Harrogate Local Plan (2014–2035), the National Planning Policy Framework, and the direction of travel in the emerging North Yorkshire Council Plan.
Mr Cove added:
This is inappropriate, unsustainable, and deeply unfair on rural communities.
Enough is enough. North Yorkshire Council must reject these applications and protect our villages from becoming dormitory estates.
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