Councillors have voted to approve 135 homes on the site of a former farm off Skipton Road in Harrogate.

The proposals by Rowan Green Developments Ltd will see the homes built at Cow Dyke Farm near Jennyfields.

The land is allocated for housing in the council’s local plan and the scheme was recommended for approval in a report.

The majority of the homes will have between one and three bedrooms and 54 are expected to be classed as affordable.

Chris Calvert spoke on behalf of the developer at a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee this afternoon.

He said the application met all of the council’s planning requirements.

Mr Calvert said:

Councillors visited the site this morning where concerns were raised about the current 40mph speed limit for motorists on Skipton Road.

Hundreds of homes have been built nearby in recent years and Tesco has planning permission to build a new supermarket close to the site.

Cllr Robert Windass (Conservative, Boroughbridge and Claro) asked if the speed limit on the nearby section of Skipton Road could be lowered to 30mph.

He said he saw a woman cross the road this morning with a pushchair, adding:

However, his request was knocked back by a council transport officer who said the 40mph limit was appropriate.

North Yorkshire Council has asked the developer to pay a one-off contribution of £161,906 towards Killinghall Village Hall and £76,347 for improvements at Jennyfields recreation play area.

This led Terry Jones, representing the 72 objectors, to say the developer was offering a “paltry sum” towards local services.

Mr Jones said:

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the plans but a reserved matters application that deals with the scheme’s appearance and landscape will come before the planning committee at a future meeting before homes can be built.

Cllr Windass added:

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