A decision to scrap a legal agreement for a housing developer to build a cycle lane in Pannal has been described as “ludicrous”.

Bellway Homes had agreed to build the cycle lane on Leeds Road when its 128-home development at the former Dunlopillo factory site was approved by Harrogate Borough Council in 2017.

But the Section 106 agreement has now been scrapped by the council in favour of a £189,000 contribution from the developers after the cycle lane costs increased to almost £1m due to new government guidance on design standards.

Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, described the decision as “ludicrous” and said the developers should be made to fulfil their agreement.

He said:

“Councils are not always going to have this kind of money themselves so they should be ensuring developers who are building houses and bringing more people into the town provide the appropriate infrastructure we need.

“The cycle lane wasn’t a brilliant scheme in the first place, but at least it would have been something.”

‘We need these links’

Mr Douglas also said cycle links in outskirt areas like Pannal should be seen as a priority to make the most of larger projects including the £10.9 million Harrogate Gateway.

He added: 

“Making improvements in the town centre will be great but we need these links in for people to get there.

“It’s very important that all these plans and projects connect together.”

The decision to scrap the agreement was made at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee on Tuesday after a recommendation from officers.

Kate Broadbank, housing officer at the council, told the committee it “would not be reasonable” to make the developers build the cycle lane given the increased costs.

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North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for highways, had also agreed to the decision prior to the meeting and is now drawing up proposals for wider improvements in Pannal using the £189,000 agreed alongside other contributions.

Paul Thornton, planning manager at Bellway Homes, said the company believed these wider plans would be of more benefit to the area.

He said: 

“The proposed commuted sum will be used to help fund wider improvements along the A61 which will ultimately benefit residents of Pannal and the wider district.

“We believe the funding provided through the amended Section 106 contribution will be far more beneficial than progressing a standalone scheme.”

One of the UK’s biggest housing developers, which is building 128 homes in Pannal, has said it can no longer afford to pay for a cycle route on Leeds Road, despite being legally obliged to do so.

Bellway Homes was granted planning permission for its Jubilee Park development on the site of the former Dunlopillo factory in 2017. Homes are being sold there for upwards of £316,000.

Bellway Homes committed to paying for a cycle route on the A61 from the bridge over the River Crimple in Pannal to the Fulwith Mill Lane junction. This was done by a section 106 agreement, which housebuilders pay to mitigate for the cost of development.

However, more than four years after being granted permission to build the homes, the developer today asked Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee to remove the agreement, which it called “unreasonable” due to a change in government cycle scheme standards.

‘No longer viable’

Speaking at the planning committee this afternoon, Paul Thornton, planning manager at Bellway Homes, said the initial plans for the scheme were to widen the footpath to provide shared access with cyclists.

But a recent change in government standards meant the developer would now be obliged to create a cycle route segregated from motor vehicles to protect the safety of cyclists. Mr Thornton said this change had made the route “no longer viable” due to the increase in cost.

Bellway instead offered to pay £189,000 to the council to go towards the route or unspecified “wider improvements” along the A61.

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Mr Thornton said:

“It will help fund winder improvements along the A61 which will benefit Pannal and the wider district.

“We believe the funding will be far more beneficial than a standalone scheme.”

Harrogate Borough Council housing officer Kate Broadbank, who wrote a report to councillors recommending they approve the removal of the section 106 agreement, said the cycle route would now cost £980,000 due to the new government standards.

Ms Broadbank wrote in the report that “it would not be reasonable” to expect the developer to pay for it all.

Liberal Democrat councillor Hannah Gostlow, who represents Knaresborough Scriven Park, asked if this meant the taxpayer would now foot the rest of the bill if the cycle route ever gets built.

Harrogate Borough Council’s chief planner John Worthington said this was an “impossible question to answer”.

Councillors agreed to remove the section 106 agreement and accept the £189,000 offer by 7 votes to none, with three councillors abstaining.