Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
18
Aug
Historic Harrogate almshouses recommended for demolition
A plan to demolish historic almshouses in Harrogate to make way for flats has been recommended for approval.
Harrogate Housing Association has proposed demolishing the property known as Applegarth Homes and replacing it with affordable flats for people aged over 55.
The charity, which has owned the almshouses since October 2017, said the current site on Knaresborough Road was “no longer fit for purpose”.
The move would see 20 flats created, including 14 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom flats and 19 car parking spaces.
The developer said the scheme aimed to redevelop the site as the current building was "no longer fit for modern day living in terms of condition and space standards”.
Now, planning officers at North Yorkshire Council have recommended the plans be approved when they go before the council's Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee on August 25.
The site layout for the planned Applegarth Homes site.
As part of the recommendations, the developer would be required to contribute £20,759 towards public open space, including upkeep of cemeteries, allotments and green spaces.
In a report, Emma Walsh, case officer at the council, said the developer would make a contribution towards the council’s housing land supply.
She said:
It is considered that the benefit of the provision of 20 affordable dwellings, for those aged 55 or above, provides a significant contribution to the delivery of housing where the council housing land supply is currently 2.2 years. There is not considered to be material harm created by the development to outweigh the benefits of the scheme.
The application is therein, recommended for approval.
The proposals were met with eight letters of objection and three letters of support.
Henry Pankhurst, of Harrogate Civic Society, said the loss of the site was regrettable, but conceded that the developer had made efforts to make the proposal “more acceptable”.
He said:
Overall, we would very much regret loss of the existing building. Although not a listed building, or in a conservations area, we would regard it as a non-designated heritage asset. The current spaciousness of the site should also be considered an asset to the area.
In March, Harrogate Town Council initially objected to the plan amid concerns around overdevelopment and that it would be unsustainable for the area.
However, the town council subsequently withdrew the objection in July after amendments to the proposals for the site.
The buildings on Knaresborough Road in Harrogate date back to 1939.
The almshouses, which consist of 10 flats, were built by Miss Jane Birdsall Walker in memory of her parents.
She maintained the property up until her death 1962 when the Applegarth Homes Almshouse charity was established by her will.
1