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10
Nov
Yorkshire Water objects to 60-home Bishop Monkton plan
Yorkshire Water has objected to plans for 60 new homes in Bishop Monkton.
Avant Homes has tabled the plan to North Yorkshire Council for a site off land off Moor Road in the village.
The developer previously withdrew a proposal for 88 houses on the same site in May 2023 but has since re-tabled amended plans.
The proposal would be a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses built on the site.
Avant officials recently told a packed village hall meeting in Bishop Monkton that they had learned from previous applications when submitting the fresh plan.
However, Yorkshire Water has lodged an objection to North Yorkshire Council over the proposal.
In a letter to planning officials, Rebuen Thornton, of the company’s developer services team, said that tree planting on the site could “ seriously jeopardise” the firm’s ability to manage the public sewage network.
Mr Thornton points out that some of the tree planing would be sited within five metres of the network.
He said:
It appears from the submitted site layout that new tree planting will be sited within five metres of the public sewerage system located within the site. This could seriously jeopardise Yorkshire Water's ability to maintain the public sewerage network and is not acceptable.
We therefore object to the development layout as currently shown. I strongly advise that, prior to determination of this application, the site layout is amended to allow for adequate protection of the sewers.
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
The move comes as Yorkshire Water has been criticised by villagers over a lack of investment in its sewer network.
During a planing appeal over 23-homes on Knaresborough Road, Bishop Monkton Action Group wrote in a letter to the government’s Planning Inspectorate that a historic lack of investment in its sewer network threatens the “sustainability of our village”.
Residents at the public meeting in Bishop Monkton.
At the time, Yorkshire Water said many of the issues in the area were linked to “blockages and infiltration of surface water into the network during heavy rainfall”. It added that it was looking at options to “alleviate issues” during periods of heavy rain.
However, during a public meeting over the fresh housing plans for Moor Road, residents pointed out that the village’s drainage and sewerage system was still out of date.
On multiple occasions during the public meeting residents pointed out to Avant Homes that the system was “Victorian”.
However, much of the concern over a lack of investment in the system was directed at Yorkshire Water, which were not present at the meeting. Residents urged Avant to put pressure on the water company to act.
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