The developer that wanted to build 3,000 homes on the former Flaxby golf course has now submitted plans for a 400-lodge eco-resort on the site.
The Stray Ferret reported in November that Flaxby Park Ltd was considering an eco-resort as an alternative scheme for the site close to the A1.
It has now submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council and claims the project could generate £53m a year of visitor spending and employ 460 full-time staff.
According to documents filed with the planning application, the eco-lodges are “intended to attract the most discerning visitors” and would have a focus on sustainability.
The plans also include a hotel, outdoor swimming pool, spa and sports area as well as a pub/cafe, farm shop, gift shop and activity hub.
The documents say the “driving principle” behind the resort is to allow families to “reconnect with nature” in “an ecologically rich environment” using renewable energy. They add:
“The development of this unique, environmentally conscious eco-lodge holiday complex would generate significant benefits for the local economy and that of the wider region.”
The application accepts noise from the A1(M) “may be audible in certain areas of the site” but says trees will help to minimise the impact. It adds:
“Overall, the scheme proposed will promote a sustainable tourism and leisure development that will considerably strengthen the offer within the district.”
If planning permission is granted the developer says the resort could be built by 2024.
Read more:
- Could Flaxby now become a 400-lodge eco-resort?
- Flaxby fails to stop Green Hammerton development at High Court
- Flaxby vs Green Hammerton: the saga so far…
An aerial view of the proposed resort.
The site of the former Flaxby golf course has had a tumultuous recent history.
There were plans to build a £7m, 300-bedroom five-star hotel on the site but the company behind the scheme filed for bankruptcy.
Current owner Flaxby Park Ltd bought the site in 2015 and hoped to build 3,000 homes but its hopes were dashed when Harrogate Borough Council chose Green Hammerton and Cattal as the location for the homes instead.
The controversial decision came to a head in October when Flaxby Park Ltd and Harrogate Borough Council contested a judicial review in London’s High Court.
The judge ruled the council’s decision to choose Green Hammerton and Cattal over Flaxby did not have to be made again.
