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10
Dec 2021
Consultation launched for 480 homes on Harrogate's Otley Road
Homes England has begun a public consultation on plans to build 480 homes at Bluecoat Wood, opposite Cardale Park and Harrogate police station.
The government housing agency bought the site this year after previous plans to develop it stalled. It plans to call the development Bluecoat Park.
The site covers 28 hectares of largely green fields and homes would wrap around Horticap.
The scheme would include a new pitch for Pannal Ash Cricket Club, a sports hub and a children's play area. Homes England said 40% of the homes would be "affordable".
A new community woodland would also be planted.
The consultation, which will end on January 10, will inform the submission of a full planning application to Harrogate Borough Council. A website has been created for people to submit their thoughts on the scheme.
Harrogate Borough Council's Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, the council's plan for development in the district until 2035, says 450 homes can be built on the site.
Traffic concerns
Separate plans for 780 homes and a new primary school have been proposed by Taylor Wimpey and Redrow at nearby Bluecoat Wood on Otley Road.
Local residents group Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association has raised concerns about congestion on Otley Road as well as extra traffic through nearby villages such as Beckwithshaw, North Rigton and Burn Bridge.
Homes England said its Bluecoat Park development would help inform the West Harrogate Parameters Plan, a document that will assess transport and infrastructure needs associated with wider plans to build up to 4,000 homes on the western side of Harrogate.
The plan was expected last year but has been delayed until February 2022.
Read more:
Bid for 780 homes and new school on Harrogate’s Otley Road
Explainer: What is the West Harrogate Parameters Plan?
The site’s history
Housing has been mooted at Bluecoat Wood for many years.
In February 2016, HBC granted planning permission to a partnership of developers called HTH Harrogate LLP to build 450 homes.
It followed an earlier refusal of permission on the grounds of road safety and traffic flow problems.
However, Homes England bought the site in February after the developer pulled out.
In the summer, Homes England submitted an environmental impact assessment for 530 homes on the site. The number has now been reduced.
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