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03
Aug
210 new homes on North Yorkshire border set for approval
A plan to build 210 new homes on the edge of Wetherby looks set to be approved.
The 13-hectare site lies within the former Harrogate district – so legally in North Yorkshire – but in practice would form an extension of Wetherby, which is in West Yorkshire and served by Leeds City Council.
Hallam Land Management, which is based in Sheffield, submitted the proposal to North Yorkshire Council in June last year.
The plan has proved controversial and attracted hundreds of objections from residents who are concerned about the impact on traffic and the character of the area.
Now, council officers have recommended that the scheme be approved at a strategic planning committee meeting in Northallerton on August 11.
According to the proposals, 210 new houses would be built on the site, including 84 affordable homes.
The land, to the north of the A661 road between Harrogate and Wetherby, abuts the edge of the Spofforth Park residential development by Bellway at Ingbarrow Gate.
A visual of the homes from a bridleway off Harrogate Road, as included in the plans.
In a planning statement supporting the application, development consultancy Lichfields, acting on behalf of the applicants, pointed out that there is a presumption in favour of sustainable development set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.
The developer is also expected to make more than £2 million in contributions towards local education and £473,119 towards off site provision, including village hall maintenance, as part of a section 106 agreement.
Contributions would also be made towards extending the 30mph speed limit on the A661 to the east of the site and improvements to local bus stops.
Hundreds of objections
However, residents submitted more than 360 letters of objections against the proposal.
Many objectors said the plan would see residents rely on Wetherby for roads, schools and amenities rather than North Yorkshire. One resident said the scheme would lead to "the death of Wetherby".
Leeds City Council also objected to the plan and raised concern that the site would primarily affect Wetherby’s housing need.
The letter said:
Although the land in question sits outside Leeds Local Planning Authority area, it is very closely sited to one of the districts major settlements (Wetherby) and as such Leeds City Council wishes to raise significant concerns in relation to this site being considered in isolation and not within the wider context of current and future planned development within the area, and the impact on local infrastructure.
The letter added that the scheme “would primarily contribute to meeting the housing needs” of Wetherby despite being in the Harrogate district.
The council said that the town had already seen housing expansion with developments at Spofforth Hill and Sandbeck Lane.
It added that it was aware that North Yorkshire currently had no five-year land supply and it was “unclear” how this would be dealt with.
In a report due before the committee meeting, Sam Binney, case officer at the council, pointed out that the area had a “a significant shortfall in housing land supply”.
He said:
Significant weight is attached to the delivery of market and affordable housing. Additional benefits include economic benefits arising from construction activity and future expenditure by residents, biodiversity net gain in excess of the statutory minimum requirement, improvements to green infrastructure, education contributions exceeding £2 million, off-site highway improvements and affordable housing provision secured in perpetuity.
These benefits attract substantial weight in favour of the proposal.
Council officers have recommended that the plan be granted permission subject to a section 106 agreement.
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