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18
Jun
Boost for planned new business park near Harrogate
Plans to build a new business park north of Harrogate have received a boost.
Teakwood Developments and DS Estates, property companies based in Harrogate and Halifax respectively, submitted plans to build 10 industrial units at the junction of Burley Bank Road and Penny Pot Lane in Killinghall last year.
The development would become the second phase of the Harrogate West Business Park, which is already home to businesses including the ventilations systems manufacturer Envirovent.
In a decision notice published this week, North Yorkshire Council ruled the project does not require an environmental impact assessment. Such assessments evaluate the environmental consequences of development and can take months or years to complete.
Council case officer Emma Walsh concluded “the scale and nature of the development and the potential impacts on the site and the receiving environment are not sufficient to require an environmental impact assessment”.
She added:
It is considered that the proposed development would not involve the production of significant volumes of waste or lead to significant environmental pollution or nuisances such that an environmental impact assessment would be required. It is considered that the effects in those regards can be assessed through the standard planning application process.
Ms Walsh’s decision removes a major obstacle in the planning process and paves the way for the council to decide whether to approve the application.
The public body Natural England raised concerns during the consultation on whether an environmental impact assessment was required when it said “the development has the potential for adverse effects” on Nidderdale National Landscape, formerly known as Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which begins a mile away.
Natural England added:
Should you decide that an environmental impact assessment is not required, Natural England advises that sufficient information on the potential impacts of this proposal upon these designated sites/areas is submitted with any subsequent planning application.
If approved, the six-hectare business park will include offices, parking and an electricity substation as well as 10 units.
A design and access statement, written last year by Harrogate-based SPX Architects on behalf of the applicants, said:
The submitted scheme seeks to create several purpose-built employment units within a landscaped setting. The scheme will provide 10 much-needed new industrial storage and distribution units and will utilise a vernacular materials palette and contemporary forms inspired by the semi-rural nature of the site. It will be integrated sensitively into the landscape and the units will combine passive design features with the latest technological design elements to create truly sustainable workplace options for local people.
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