Plans have been submitted to build 770 homes and a new primary school at Otley Road in Harrogate.
The development also includes a sports centre, a convenience store and community hub.
Land promoters Anwyl Land and national housebuilder Redrow Homes are behind the Windmill Farm development, which would be the biggest housing scheme to be built in Harrogate for decades.
It would dwarf the nearby village of Beckwithshaw, which has a population of 400.
The homes would be built on green fields on the opposite side of the road from the charity-run nursery Horticap and behind RHS Harlow Carr. Part of the land is currently used by Beaver Horse Shop.
Parameters Plan
A design and access statement, submitted to support the application, says the application has been informed by the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.
The parameters plan, which has been prepared by Harrogate Borough Council, will be used to identify what infrastructure is required to meet the needs associated with future developments in the area.
It also offers guidance on design, open space and landscaping.
The application says 40% of the homes will be classed as “affordable”, with the remaining 60% sold at market rate and being between two and five-bedroom properties.
The homes would look like these
Forty of the homes would be self-build, which are plots reserved for people who want to build their own home.
Bus stops and three access points would be created on Otley Road to leave and enter the site and a new cycle route would also be installed, which the developers hope will eventually connect to the Otley Road cycle path.
The existing Otley Road/Howhill Road junction would be reworked to include one of the entrance points to Windmill Farm and will have traffic lights.
An energy statement says the homes would not have any low carbon or renewable energy technologies.
They would be fitted with “high-efficiency” combi gas boilers to heat the homes. The government will be ban gas boilers from new homes in 2025.
It says to reduce emissions, the homes would be well insulated and be positioned to make the most of the sun.
There are no firm details included about the primary school and the number of children it can accommodate, but it would be built on the side of the development facing RHS Harlow Carr.
It says the size of the school and its surroundings would be 5.19 acres.
The new primary school would be built near RHS Harlow Carr
Local Plan
The site is allocated for development in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which is a document that lays out where development can take place in the district until 2035. It says 776 homes can be built there.
If the Windmill Farm development is granted full planning approval, it would mean over 1,200 homes could be built on that section of Otley Road.
The government’s housing agency, Homes England, has plans to build 480 homes on Bluecoat Park, near Harrogate police station.
The majority of homes at the 125-home Harlow Hill Grange development are now completed.
Environment concerns
Whilst the development is likely to be granted planning permission in some form due to the fact the site is included in the Local Plan, a spokesperson for Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association told the Stray Ferret in September it was “very concerned” about the scale of the development and its impact on the environment.
Planning documents submitted on behalf of the developer say the scheme is a “high-quality proposal”.
“The proposed layout seeks to meets the aspirations of the draft Parameter Plans for the West of Harrogate masterplan. The proposed scheme provides a residential development that fully integrates built form, landscaping and quality of place in order to provide a high-quality proposal that is where people are proud to live.”
The plans are open for comments on the council’s planning portal and the reference is 22/00089/EIAMAJ
