After four separate planning decisions and hundreds of objections, Knox Lane residents started their fight to prevent 53 homes being built in their neighbourhood.

Knox Lane is tucked away in a lovely corner of Bilton. But today the residents were tucked away in a nondescript room in Harrogate’s Civic Centre, where they and planning officials gathered to argue over whether the scheme should go-ahead.

To the right sat Jomast, a developer based in Teeside, which was represented by four planning professionals and a barrister, Freddie Humphreys.

Across from them were North Yorkshire Council, which brought four officers - though they admitted early into the hearing that they did not intend to speak very much.

This is because the job of defending the decision to refuse the scheme has been left to the residents, specifically Knox Conservation Group.

The task of going up against Jomast and its professionals fell to them after council officials opted against defending its planning committee’s decision after considering the potentially high cost to taxpayers.

Sat a few yards in front of Mark Burgess, the chartered planner appointed by the Planning Inspectorate to oversee the hearing, were the residents.

Victoria Austin, a Knox resident of eight years, was selected as the main spokesperson for the residents group, which has been coldly dubbed an “interested party” at the hearing.

Ms Austin made the conservation group’s standing clear from the outset.

Addressing the fact that Jomast was armed with a barrister an a team of professionals, all of whom intend to speak on various matters, she told the hearing:

The hearing is expected to last two days and hear numerous pieces of evidence on landscaping, biodiversity, highways and design.

Mr Humphries, in his capacity as barrister for Jomast, said he intends to demonstrate that the site on Knox Lane is an “acceptable location” for development.

He will do that by calling on evidence from professionals at the developer and pointing to various pieces of planning guidance.

The residents on the other hand, will call eight separate witnesses who have all had to do their own research and collate their own evidence.

A decision on the hearing may not be published until the autumn.

The prospect of residents taking on Jomast and its small group of professionals could be seen as a David and Goliath situation.

But as Ms Austin pointed out during her opening remarks, just because the locals are not well versed in planning law “it does not diminish the value of our evidence”.

Look for further coverage of the hearing on the Sray Ferret.