Housing plan refused at former prisoner of war camp near Harrogate

Plans to demolish the skeletal remains of a former Second World War prisoner of war camp in Kirk Deighton for housing have been refused.

The site near Wetherby was known as Camp 53 during the war and initially housed Italian prisoners of war following the success of the North Africa campaign in 1941.

Later in the conflict, they were joined by Germans until they were moved to a different camp due to unrest between the two nationalities.

The derelict site has been under the ownership of the same family since the the 1970s. They wanted to demolish five hostel structures to build three modern homes in their place.

According to planning documents, the homes would use the original footprint, form and materials of the buildings at the former camp.

A public display board was planned for in front of the homes with the site’s history.

A brick water tower would also have been kept.

However, the council came out against the unusual application yesterday (June 25) and refused the scheme, arguing it would damage the “historic social narrative of the site".

The council also said the residential development would represent an encroachment of open countryside.

A previous bid for five houses on the site was refused in 2017 and dismissed on appeal.

Whilst in Yorkshire, POWs were used for ditching and drainage work as well as general agricultural labour.

The Kirk Deighton hostel was built to serve a larger principal base camp at Scriven.

It was used by POWs until 1948 when the last soldiers were repatriated.

Other POW camps were established at Leeds, York, Wetherby, Bramham, Skipton, Otley, Husthwaite, Thirkleby, Dishforth, Great Ouseburn, Harrogate and Starbeck. 

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