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Jun
Harrogate College bids to save £22m redevelopment after legal threat
North Yorkshire Council has said it expects planning permission for a £22 million new campus at Harrogate College to be quashed.
The scheme, which would see a new main building built and the construction of a renewable energy skills hub, was granted approval in April.
However, Hornbeam Park Developments launched a judicial review into the plans after raising concern that the project would leave only a fraction of parking spaces available during construction.
It added that it felt the council had also not followed the planning process correctly because it failed to consider significant local objections and “rushed through the planning application” under delegated powers.
The move comes after the college secured significant funding for the project, which it now says will be under threat due to the legal challenge which will delay its construction.
Chris Bentley, of Hornbeam Park Developments, said he felt the move would ensure the planning process is followed correctly.
He said:
Whilst we understand the college’s pleasure in securing this funding, their plans, which have been waved through by the council, do not show the level of consideration that is needed for this complicated site.
We have made the difficult decision to launch a judicial review as we feel there are deficiencies in the proposals and the council’s decision making, and we hope through this process we can ensure that a better proposal comes forward in the future.
The plans for the new college building were submitted by Luminate Education Group, which the college is a member of, and were approved by planning officers in April.
The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council whether it had a response to the legal challenge lodged against its decision.
In a statement, Nic Harne, director of community development at the council, said the authority now expected the permission to be quashed and the planning process run again.
He added that the council was now working with Luminate Education Group to resolve the issues with the application.
Mr Harne said:
Planning permission for the demolition of existing buildings and the construction of new teaching and workshop blocks at Harrogate College was granted in April.
We have now received a legal challenge against the decision based on technical issues with the planning process. Given these issues, we now expect the existing planning decision to be quashed.
This will allow the planning decision-making process to be re-run.
We are working with the applicant, Luminate Education Group, which the college is part of, to find a resolution as quickly as we can.
Funding at risk
In response to the legal challenge, Danny Wild, principal of Harrogate College, has warned the move may put the project’s funding at risk.
Mr Wild said that £20 million of the funding was secured from the Department for Education, which is linked to the scheme being completed by 2025.
The redevelopment of Harrogate College’s site will create modern facilities such as a mock hospital ward, digital technology suite, electric vehicle workshop and a construction centre focused on teaching modern building methods.
However, Mr Wild said the competition of the scheme will now be delayed and may put the funding at risk.
In a statement, he said:
This setback means that the planning process will probably need to be run again. This will push back the project completion date into 2026. The delay may also put at risk £20m of Department for Education (DfE) funding for the £22m project because the DfE grant and loan funding is linked to completing the project in 2025.
The new campus would be perfectly placed to support the region’s skills needs for the future, boosting our businesses and economy while providing targeted training in key areas like green technology. The new Harrogate College will also provide the facilities and courses that young people and adults need to start or develop their careers
We are now calling on the people and businesses of Harrogate, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Knaresborough to help us by lobbying the DfE and politicians to ensure that the grant and loan funding for the new Harrogate College continues to be available for a project completion in 2026. With everyone’s support, we will still be able to see this project, which will benefit so many local people for decades to come, through to its completion.
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