Interested in advertising with us?

Advertise with us

Thank you for your interest in this story.

To continue reading this article, subscribe to the Stray Ferret for as little as £1 a week.

    Already a subscriber? Log in here.

    14

    Feb 2023

    Last Updated: 13/02/2023
    Environment
    Environment

    Decision today on Harrogate Tesco and two major housing schemes

    by John Plummer

    | 14 Feb, 2023
    Comment

    0

    collage-maker-13-feb-2023-05-01-pm

    Councillors will decide today whether to allow a new Tesco supermarket and two major housing schemes be built on the outskirts of Harrogate.

    Tesco has applied to build a supermarket, petrol station and 209 car parking spaces on the site of the former gasworks off Skipton Road.

    Persimmon Homes has submitted plans to erect 162 homes off Kingsley Drive and another developer, Jomast, wants to build 53 homes off Knox Lane in Bilton.

    Harrogate Borough Council officers have recommended all three scheme be approved. But the Conservative-controlled planning committee will vote whether to approve or reject each recommendation. They could also defer a decision to request further information.

    The meeting, which begins at 2pm, can be watched live on the council's YouTube page here. People can also watch the meeting at the council offices at Knapping Mount.

    The Stray Ferret will also cover the meeting.

    Concerns about committee chair


    Kingsley Ward Action Group, which campaigns to protect green spaces in the Kingsley area, where several hundred homes are in the process of being built, has written to members of the planning committee expressing concerns about the role of Cllr Rebecca Burnett, who chairs the planning committee.

    The action group claims Cllr Burnett, a Conservative who represents Harrogate St Georges, has a "disclosable interest" in Kingsley planning matters, according to the council's own planning code of good practice, which states members living "close to an application site" should — subject to an exception — declare it and leave the room while the application is discussed. The code says:

    "A member who lives close to an application site, will usually have a disclosable interest to declare under the Code of Conduct. This means that, subject to the exception referred to in paragraph 1.5 (ix), they cannot take part in the decision and must declare the interest and leave the meeting room. A member in these circumstances may not stay to listen to such an application even if they are not a member of the committee making the decision. This may also be the case if a relation or friend of the member lives close to the application site or where the relative or friend has submitted the application."


    Cllr Burnett's address listed on the council website is within about half a mile of the proposed Persimmon site.

    The action group is desperate to prevent further development in Kingsley. The Stray Ferret has contacted the council and Cllr Burnett repeatedly to get a response to its claims but has not received a reply on the issue.

    As chair, Cllr Bennett had the casting vote in favour of the 30-home Kingsley Farm scheme when the planning committee met last month and was tied 6-6 on whether to approve the scheme.



    Read more: