An appeal hearing into a plan for 25 homes in the Kingsley area of Harrogate is set to assess whether the scheme will provide a suitable housing mix and appropriate affordable housing.

Quarters Kingsley Ltd received outline planning permission to build up to 30 homes on the site of the former chicken farm at Kingsley Farm in January 2023.

The company, based in Felliscliffe, then submitted a reserved matters planning application, which gave details of the proposed layout, access and landscaping, for 25 homes to North Yorkshire Council.

However, the council rejected the plan in November 2024 on the grounds that it had not provided “sufficient information" on access and that the layout, scale and design were not considered to “reflect the principles of good design”.

In June, Quarters Kingsley appealed the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with planning disputes.

A statement of case, produced by property consultants Carter Jonas on behalf of the developer, said the scheme “meets the requirements of a sustainable development”.

An appeal hearing into the application is set to be held at Harrogate’s Civic Centre on October 22.

The hearing, which is scheduled to sit for one day, will be overseen by government planning inspector, LN Hughes.

According to appeal documents, the appeal will also cover whether there is acceptable highways safety within the site and whether there is sufficient protection for existing trees and sufficient biodiversity net gain.

The site is one of the last remaining undeveloped areas in the Kingsley area.

Some 600 new homes have been approved in recent years, including a 162-home scheme on Kingsley Drive which was fiercely contested by residents.

People have raised concerns about congestion and traffic flow, as well as additional pressures on local schools and healthcare services.

The Stray Ferret has reported on the scale of new housing developments across the Harrogate district extensively. You can read more on this here and here.