Plans have been submitted to close Crescent Gardens in Harrogate to public traffic.
Harrogate-based property developer Impala Estates bought the former Harrogate Borough Council headquarters alongside the road for £4 million in 2020.
It received planning permission in May last year to turn the building into offices, a roof garden restaurant and gym, and to create a two-storey extension. Work has yet to begin.
The company has now applied for permission to install bollards and planters to convert the public highway into a private road.
If approved, the road would be maintained by Impala Estates for access to the Crescent Gardens development and associated car parking bays.
The area affected would include the Crescent Gardens road and footpath from its intersection with Swan Road to its intersection with Montpellier Road.
According to planning documents submitted to North Yorkshire Council, the application site “excludes the off-carriageway parking bays to the south of the Crescent Gardens roadway with the exception of a small section (essentially two parking bays) located directly between the Crescent Gardens building main entrance and the path opposite into the Crescent Gardens park”.
Planters and retractable bollards, similar to those temporarily installed on Beech Grove in Harrogate, would be installed at either end of Crescent Gardens to prevent public vehicles passing.
The documents add:
“The former Harrogate Borough Council agreed to dispose of the land underlying the Crescent Gardens roadway on the basis that it would be stopped up, with the roadway becoming privately owned and associated with the Crescent Gardens development.
“It is also understood that the local highway authority has no objection in principle to the Crescent Gardens roadway being stopped up.”
An impression of how the redeveloped site would look.
James Hartley, director of Impala, told the Stray Ferret,
“The road was discussed at the time of the sale and has been approved by the council at committee. As part of the process, we have been working with the Department for Transport on the stopping up order and North Yorkshire Council on the submitted planning application.
“The changes to the road will assist in the construction of Crescent Gardens along with providing the building with a well-managed and enhanced setting once the works have been undertaken. This will link the building better with the gardens opposite, achieving a clear public benefit.”
Asked if the company’s plans for the redevelopment of Crescent Gardens had changed, or if a starting date was known, Mr Hartley said:
“Nothing has changed with the broader redevelopment, we are working hard with our design team to develop out the design allowing it to go out to tender.”
Read more:
- Still no timeframe on refurbishment of Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens
- Harrogate Spring Water to hold consultation event on expansion next week
