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06
Sept 2022
Controversial Knox Lane housing plans recommended for approval
A Harrogate Borough Council officer has recommended that councillors next week approve plans to build 53 homes in Bilton.
North East property developer Jomast wants to build the homes on a field off Knox Lane in what has been a controversial and long-running planning application.
The council's planning committee will decide next Tuesday whether the scheme can go ahead.
Council officer Andy Hough has published a 30-page report for councillors that says the development should be given the green light once certain conditions are met and there being no objection from the local flood authority.
The majority of the site is allocated for development in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which says where homes can be built.
However, the development will also include land outside of the local plan area for trees and open space.
Obstacles
The developer has faced a number of obstacles getting to this stage.
Its initial plans were for 73 homes but the number was reduced following concerns about over-development.
NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said GP practices in Harrogate are already over-saturated and have “very limited capacity” to accept another 123 patients that the new homes could bring.
Jomast has agreed to pay £63,974, which will be spent by GP practices.
This year, North Yorkshire County Council, who is in charge of roads in the district, said the layout of the development was ‘not acceptable’. The developer has since agreed to pay to widen Knox Lane in a move that has satisfied the county council.
'Sustainable location'
Residents in the area have also long said the site is unsuitable due to the overhead electricity pylons that run through the fields and because of its impact on wildlife and a historic part of Harrogate.
Jomast has said it will not build homes directly beneath the pylons. Mr Hough, from Harrogate Borough Council, said the developer has "positively utilised" the pylons to create a "strong green infrastructure" and a "significant area" of public open space.
The National Grid has backed the development.
Read more:
- Siblings, 11 and 7, get creative to protest against new Knox Lane houses
- Residents say 53 homes at Knox Lane will ‘decimate’ idyllic scene
- GPs ‘extremely concerned’ Knox Lane housing will put pressure on health services
In his conclusion Mr Hough said:
'We will be saddened'
The proposed site off Knox Lane.
At the time of publication, there have been 311 objections to the plans from residents and zero submissions of support.
To many living in that corner of Bilton, the fields on Knox Lane represent one of the last green spaces in the area.
They believe the houses would destroy an idyllic scene that is home to wildlife and is a gateway to Spruisty Bridge and Oak Beck.
Sue Wrightson, who lives in the area, gave the following reasons why she and other residents believe councillors should refuse the plans next week.
She said:
The Stray Ferret asked Jomast to comment but we did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Jomast and planning consultants Spawforths previously issued the following joint statement to the Stray Ferret:
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