The owner and co-developer of Glasshouses Mill has said he will pay overdue section 106 payments “the minute the first spade hits the ground” for the second phase of the project.

Chris Hawkesworth, who bought the former working mill in 1971, provided an update to Pateley Bridge Town Council on Tuesday night.

Mr Hawkesworth is a director of Glasshouses 123 Ltd, which is a subsidiary of developer Newby Homes. The company started work on the first phase of the 50-home project in 2016 and 30 homes have since been built. 

Glasshouses 123 had hoped to be granted approval to begin work on the second phase by North Yorkshire Council's Skipton and Ripon planning committee on Monday (September 2). But councillors deferred the decision following concerns about overdue section 106 payments from the first phase.

Developers pay section 106 legal agreements to mitigate for the impact of development.

In this case, £250,000 was due to go towards local schools, open spaces and village halls. However, the first two instalments to the council have still not been paid, the Stray Ferret reported on Tuesday.

Pateley Bridge town councillors have expressed concern about delayed payments at several meetings – particularly the near-£140,000 sum allocated to fund local schools.

Mr Hawkesworth told town councillors the payments had been missed due to “unexpected costs involved in removing asbestos and artefacts, which had to be saved due to it being a listed building”.

He added:

At Monday’s planning meeting, a planning agent told councillors a series of unexpected events, including Brexit, covid, and war in Ukraine had led to the developer struggling to make a profit so far.

North Yorkshire Council planning officer Andy Hough added three different viability assessments, which have been independently verified, found the scheme would only become profitable in phase two, following the unprecedented issues.

In addition, Mr Hawkesworth yesterday told the Stray Ferret the section 106 money "absolutely" would have been paid by now had the unexpected obstacles not occured. 

New terms

In a report by Mr Hough, which was drawn up before the meeting, new payment triggers were agreed between the council and the developer. 

The developer is now obliged to contribute £139,359 towards education services before the 33rd property has been occupied. 

It adds £61,800.04 should be paid towards open spaces and £63,170.04 towards village halls before the 44th property is taken on. 

The initial section 106 agreement also required a village shop at the site to be up and running prior to phase two commencing. However, no one has taken on the commercial opportunity. 

As a result, the report adds the obligation for the shop to be open for trading before the 31st property is built has been removed. The developer is now required to advertise the unit for a 12-month period in line with an approved marketing strategy. 

"If no interest is forthcoming then alternative uses will be considered as part of any future planning consent", it adds. 

Councillors asked for further details to be put forward by the developer on how it would ensure the payments to the council are honoured before more homes are built.

They voted to defer the application pending another financial appraisal, as well as an energy and sustainability statement.  

Glasshouses Mill was a working corn and flax mill that employed more than 400 workers in its heyday.

After buying the site in the 70s, Mr Hawkesworth ran his own manufacturing company there until 1994.

Residents already live at the site, with some properties between £280,000 and £500,000 still on the market. 

The developer is struggling to find a tenant to take on the commercial unit and café, which was an agreed term in the original planning permission.