Subscribe to trusted local news
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.
25
Jan 2022
Housing developer can 'no longer afford' to pay for Leeds Road cycle path
One of the UK's biggest housing developers, which is building 128 homes in Pannal, has said it can no longer afford to pay for a cycle route on Leeds Road, despite being legally obliged to do so.
Bellway Homes was granted planning permission for its Jubilee Park development on the site of the former Dunlopillo factory in 2017. Homes are being sold there for upwards of £316,000.
Bellway Homes committed to paying for a cycle route on the A61 from the bridge over the River Crimple in Pannal to the Fulwith Mill Lane junction. This was done by a section 106 agreement, which housebuilders pay to mitigate for the cost of development.
However, more than four years after being granted permission to build the homes, the developer today asked Harrogate Borough Council's planning committee to remove the agreement, which it called "unreasonable" due to a change in government cycle scheme standards.
'No longer viable'
Speaking at the planning committee this afternoon, Paul Thornton, planning manager at Bellway Homes, said the initial plans for the scheme were to widen the footpath to provide shared access with cyclists.
But a recent change in government standards meant the developer would now be obliged to create a cycle route segregated from motor vehicles to protect the safety of cyclists. Mr Thornton said this change had made the route "no longer viable" due to the increase in cost.
Bellway instead offered to pay £189,000 to the council to go towards the route or unspecified "wider improvements" along the A61.
Read more:
- Bid to convert Kirkby Malzeard pub at centre of long-running campaign
- Harrogate set for ‘greatest investment in town centre in decades’
Mr Thornton said:
Harrogate Borough Council housing officer Kate Broadbank, who wrote a report to councillors recommending they approve the removal of the section 106 agreement, said the cycle route would now cost £980,000 due to the new government standards.
Ms Broadbank wrote in the report that "it would not be reasonable" to expect the developer to pay for it all.
Liberal Democrat councillor Hannah Gostlow, who represents Knaresborough Scriven Park, asked if this meant the taxpayer would now foot the rest of the bill if the cycle route ever gets built.
Harrogate Borough Council's chief planner John Worthington said this was an "impossible question to answer”.
Councillors agreed to remove the section 106 agreement and accept the £189,000 offer by 7 votes to none, with three councillors abstaining.
0