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19
Jan
Developer re-applies to build on land in Great Ouseburn
More houses could be built in Great Ouseburn if a planning application is approved by North Yorkshire Council.
Headingley-based developer Venturi Homes has applied for consent to build 11 new homes – in red brick and with terracotta pantile roofs – in a field between Branton Lane and Seggans Road.
But the application has already drawn objections, even though it was only validated by the council on Monday (January 12).
Some local residents worry that the development will lead to a loss of amenity and character, while others are concerned that building on the land will increase the risk of flooding.
On the planning application form, in reply to the questions ‘Is the site within an area at risk of flooding?’ and ‘Will the proposal increase the flood risk elsewhere?’, Venturi Homes answered ‘no’.
But in her objection to the plans, local resident Alexandra Simpson wrote:
The land in question opposite Branton Lane is often flooded land and any development on it will lead to further flooding on the country road next to it. It is necessary to keep a flood plain for the village.
Another resident, Anthony McQuillan, wrote:
The building on the higher ground is going to severely increase the surface drainage into now permanent pond in the Seggans – it won't take long for this to spill onto Seggans Road to Dunsforth. Flooding there is already bad.
Venturi's plan for the site.
In comments submitted to the council’s online planning portal, resident Mark Tankard raised concerns about the volume of houses being built in Great Ouseburn, where about 70 new properties have been built in four separate developments in recent years. He wrote:
If permission is granted it will cause the village to lose another part of its identity. [...]
The village has suffered approximately 7 to 8 years of high levels of building and construction traffic and this development will cause another 2 years of disruption and more road closures. By allowing the continual building of houses in Great Ouseburn it is permanently changing the character of the village from increase traffic and unsympathetic blending of housing architecture.
This development will increase the pressure on infrastructure such as sewage, water and roads.
I feel Great Ouseburn has had its fair share of new developments and it's time to allow the village to come to terms with the existing recent developments.
Venturi Homes applied to build 11 homes on the site in 2018, but the application was refused in 2021.
Reasons for the refusal included “harm to the setting and significance of Great Ouseburn Conservation Area through the loss of open space integral to the character of the Conservation Area”.
The application was also turned down because the site fell outside the development limit for Great Ouseburn and was not on land allocated for development in the Local Plan.
In comments published on the council's planning portal today, Mr McQuillan added:
Planning was refused in 2021 because of (inter alia), the site is outside settlement limits, because of the heritage and landscape impacts, and the loss of (more) trees/harm to biodiversity. Nothing has changed there.
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