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18
Jul 2022
Spofforth housing developer requests £23,000 in council appeal costs
A developer has asked Harrogate Borough Council to pay £23,000 in costs after it won a planning appeal against the authority.
Yorkshire Housing Ltd took the council to the government’s Planning Inspectorate after it refused a proposal for 72 homes on Massey Fold in Spofforth.
The developer already had outline permission to build on the site, but councillors turned down an application that finalised the appearance and landscaping details in November 2020.
At the time, councillors said the plan would have a “detrimental urbanising impact upon the character and setting of Spofforth”.
A planning inspector sided in favour with Yorkshire Housing and gave the go-ahead for the scheme in October 2021.
Now the council has confirmed that the developer has submitted a request for costs totalling £23,278 for the appeal.
Read more:
Spofforth: a broken planning system that’s failed a village
Call for government to reject controversial Spofforth homes plan
- Government approves controversial 72 homes in Spofforth
The developer sought costs from the council after it said the authority had “unreasonably delayed” the housing development.
Council officials asked the inspector dismiss the request. But the government awarded costs against the authority.
Local concern
The decision to approve the scheme followed concerns from local residents over the design and that the housing would not be in keeping with the village.
More than 300 local people and organisations, including Natural England and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, raised concerns about the development.
Shirley Fawcett, chairman of Spofforth with Stockeld Parish Council, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson appealing for help in challenging the development.
However, Siobhan Watson, the government planning inspector, said she found the council’s reasons for refusal “vague and illogical”.
She said:
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