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27
Nov 2020
Harrogate council defends planning department after accusations
Harrogate Borough Council has defended its planning department after a former planner told the Stray Ferret it 'has been in a state of disarray' for two decades.
David Howarth, who was employed by the council for five years in the 1980s and then worked for it as a private consultant for 30 years, spoke to the Stray Ferret to give us his views after reading our series of planning and housing articles this week.
In statement released to the Stray Ferret, a council spokesman robustly defended the performance of the planning department:
Mr Howarth said the council’s "weak resistance" to builders contrasted with its "heavy-handed" approach to residents seeking planning permission — an accusation that the council denied.
The spokesman said:
Read more:
- Housing Investigation: Calculations reveal houses covering over 700 football pitches will be built in the Harrogate district by 2035.
- Harrogate district targeted for development during planning chaos
Our series this week has investigated the impact of the years that followed a rejected Local Plan in 2014 -before the formation of HBC's current Local Plan, which was adopted in March 2020.
The spokesman added:
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