Councillor Chris Aldred, who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley for the Liberal Democrats, has been confirmed as the Harrogate charter mayor from next year.

Cllr Aldred will be the town’s second charter mayor, which is a role created by North Yorkshire Council following the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council in April.

The non-political, unelected role involves promoting the historic and ceremonial traditions of the Harrogate area during events such as last month’s Remembrance Sunday.

Cllr Aldred was chosen this morning by the Harrogate charter trustees, which are 10 councillors who represent divisions covering the unparished parts of Harrogate town.

He will be supported by deputy charter mayor Michael Schofield, who represents Harlow and St Georges as an independent.

The mayoral tradition will pass to a future Harrogate Town Council but this is not expected to happen until at least 2025.

The current charter mayor is Cllr Michael Harrison, who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate for the Conservatives.

Cllr Harrison said:

“As charter trustees we’ll still be in play for at least one more year.

“We asked for nominations and I’m delighted to report that there was one nomination for charter mayor to be Chris Aldred as charter mayor and Mike Schofield for deputy mayor. I’d like to congratulate both of those people.”

Read more:

• Tory mayoral candidate pledges North Yorkshire bus franchising assessment
• Harrogate’s rare historic items set to remain with local organisations

Cllr Aldred and Cllr Schofield will become charter mayor and deputy at a meeting in May.

The charter mayor role differs from the former Harrogate Borough Council mayoralty, which covered the whole of the former borough with the mayor undertaking a wider range of engagements.

The charter mayor is not entitled to expenses such as a chauffeur driven car that the former Harrogate Borough Council mayor could benefit from.

Although the charter mayor is still entitled to wear chains and civic regalia as worn by previous mayors.

At the meeting this morning, councillors approved increasing the annual budget for charter trustee business from £12,100 a year to £12,800, with most of the money set to be spent on North Yorkshire Council staff costs.

It means a Harrogate resident living in a band D property will spend 46p on the charter trustees and charter mayor next year through council tax.

The Conservative councillor in charge of transport at North Yorkshire Council has urged local Liberal Democrat members to support the scaled-back Harrogate Station Gateway proposals.

The £11.2m scheme’s most controversial aspects, such as the single-lane proposals for Station Parade and the part-pedestrianisation of James Street, are set to be dropped for it to proceed and to avoid legal peril for the council.

The plans were thrown into doubt over the summer when Harrogate-based property firm Hornbeam Park Developments, which owns several commercial properties on James Street, issued a legal challenge.

Conservative executive member for transport Keane Duncan and the Liberal Democrats have had a turbulent relationship when it comes to the Station Gateway.

In July, Cllr Duncan accused the Lib Dems of “playing politics” after it withdrew support. Then in August, the party called on him to resign due to his handling of the project.

But at a meeting in Northallerton last week, Cllr Duncan made a plea for unity ahead of a final decision on whether the project will move forward.

One Arch

This will be made by the council’s ruling Conservative executive so does not require cross-party support to get it over the line but Cllr Duncan said he still hopes it can be backed by councillors in the town.

He said:

“My sincere hope is that Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors can unite behind a deliverable plan that secures £11m of investment for Harrogate. This is important for Harrogate and it’s important for North Yorkshire too.”

Funding for the Station Gateway is coming from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund but Cllr Duncan warned that if it doesn’t proceed and money has to be handed back to Whitehall it could risk future funding bids for the whole county.

He added:

“We should not return hard-fought money to government. This would be immensely damaging to the reputation of this council and future investment for our county. I am committed to working with Harrogate and Knaresborough colleagues to devise a proposal that commands clear public and business support.”

‘Complete incompetence’

In recent weeks, meetings have taken place between council officers working on the scheme and local councillors, including a walk around the proposed Station Gateway area where councillors of all parties have made suggestions.

Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate & Kingsley, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the party accepts changes must be made to the scheme, which he blamed on “complete incompetence” by Cllr Duncan and the Conservatives.

He added:

“While further pedestrianisation of some areas of Harrogate town centre and much-needed improved connectivity for cyclists remain in our long term vision for the town, it is unfortunate that these must remain, in the main, long term aspirations, which can’t now happen within this scheme.

“However we do feel that some of the real positive elements of the scheme remain achievable within the timescale, such as a dedicated bus lane improving access to the bus station, improvements of the public realm in Station Square and One Arch, improved covered cycling storage and better connectivity of traffic lights and crossings for pedestrians and vehicles.

“The Lib Dem group regrets that the engagement with local residents and the town centre business community, as well as local councillors, which we called for back in May, has only just started to happen now. But we look forward to more of it in the next few weeks and hope to play our part in delivering these much needed improvements within the town centre.”

Read more:

• Lib Dem leader accuses Tories of ‘pinching’ Harrogate Station Gateway ideas
• Harrogate BID says amended Station Gateway scheme ‘should proceed’

A Harrogate road often used as a cut-through by vehicles is set to reopen to through traffic this autumn.

A 12-month traffic order has blocked traffic at the bridge where Kingsley Road meets Bogs Lane since November last year.

The route was previously used by some vehicles to avoid congestion on the main A59 Knaresborough Road, as well as by locals.

The traffic order was issued to enable developer Redrow to carry out work at its 133-home Kingsley Manor development.

The bridge that divides Bogs Lane and Kingsley Road is to re-open to vehicles.

North Yorkshire Council  wanted to make the closure permanent but has been unable to do so and the roads will reopen to through traffic when the 12-month order lapses on November 3.

A council email sent to interested parties said it needed to construct a turning area on Bogs Lane “as a prerequisite to any road closure”.

The email, which is attributed to a ‘development management team’ rather than any named individual, added:

“We have been negotiating with this third party landowner for over 18 months and despite protracted correspondence, there has been no conclusion to the enquiry.

“The local highway authority is now at the stage where we must proceed with an alternative option to create a safe pedestrian environment on Bogs Lane as the temporary road closure expires in November and the occupation of dwellings on the Redrow site will begin shortly after.”

The council now wants to install a pedestrian route between the proposed Redrow site entrance on Bogs Lane and the garage to the east of the railway bridge.

The email added:

“The proposal would create a notional 1.5 metre wide footway on the northern side of the road, which would be slightly narrower over short sections in some places due to physical site constraints.

“This option would require the road to be realigned slightly to the south and reinforced in places in order to retain its current minimal width of 4.8m.

“Discussions are already underway with Network Rail with regards to the proposed footway crossing the bridge deck, as this bridge is a Network Rail asset for which permissions would be required to undertake works.”

The email added the council is talking to Redrow about amending 2017 documents that obliged the developer to construct a footway.

‘The infamous Kingsley rat run will reappear’

Some people welcomed the road closure for making the Kingsley area quieter; others said it added time to their journeys and the detours only increased pollution.

Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on the council, was among those who supported a permanent closure. He said:

“I do see the point, which I understand many of the consultees made, regarding keeping Bogs Lane open to emergency vehicles, which would benefit residents on both sides of the bridge.

“I’m really pleased that, at long last, Bogs Lane is going to get a decent footway, hopefully prior to November 4th, when the Redrow Road Closure expires.

“My main worry is that the infamous Kingsley rat run will reappear when the road re-opens, but I understand traffic lights and traffic calming measures on both sides of the bridge and around the new junction will not make the road any quicker for motorists than using Knaresborough Road.”

Read more:

• Kingsley developers open safe route for walkers and cyclists
• Kingsley anger reaches ‘boiling point’ as another 162 homes set for approval

The Liberal Democrats have withdrawn their support for the Station Gateway proposal in central Harrogate.

The move was announced by Cllr Chris Aldred at North Yorkshire Council’s executive today, after several of the party members voted in favour of the scheme in May.

He said their support had been on condition that North Yorkshire Council engaged in a meaningful way with residents, businesses and the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee over the plans.

Cllr Aldred, who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley division, said:

“It is with disappointment that I am speaking here today. Disappointment at the failure of this executive to engage with business and residents in a meaningful way.

“Disappointment at the failure of this executive to respect the recommendations of Harrogate’s democratically elected Councillors on Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee.

“And disappointment that those most closely affected are left feeling ignored, with their genuine concerns sidelined.”

The issue had already split the party, with area constituency committee chairman Cllr Pat Marsh voting against the plans, while several other Lib Dems supported them.

Cllr Marsh then went to a meeting of the executive to ask its members to drop the proposal, despite her committee having voted to ask the executive to proceed.

Read more:

• Harrogate businessmen give council notice of Station Gateway legal action
• Council spends £2m on consultants for Harrogate’s Station Gateway

Cllr Aldred said the executive had failed to meet a deadline of June 30 to set up a working group of the area constituency committee and to arrange face-to-face meetings with concerned residents and businesses.

Calling for more engagement with the local councillors over the Station Gateway plans, he added:

“Liberal Democrat members will continue to monitor every aspect of this scheme, on behalf of our residents and hold the executive to account for every pound of public money spent on it.

“But we simply can not support a scheme that is being driven by an administration determined to ignore residents, businesses and councillors alike – an administration who constantly fall short of what is expected.

“This administration seems more focused on clinging to power and has prioritised its own political backroom conversations aimed at maintaining a majority in the chamber, above getting a grip on this controversial issue.

“We have given you enough opportunities to demonstrate you are sincere and competent. Sadly, you have clearly demonstrated that you are neither.”

The declaration prompted a row between the party’s councillors from across the Harrogate area and the ruling Conservatives on the executive.

In response, Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive councillor for highways, described the move as “playing politics” with the gateway scheme.

He accused Cllr Aldred of “rowing back” on his support to achieve “harmony within the Liberal Democrats” – which Cllr Aldred denied.

Cllr Duncan said:

“We are drawing up an engagement plan, that will determine who we are going to speak to in terms of businesses and residents throughout the construction period.

“A decision has been taken at this executive to support the gateway scheme. We are delivering on the support that you gave and that the majority of your colleagues gave.

“We will engage and we will ensure that we deliver this plan. We are very clear that the Conservative group on this council and this executive supports the gateway. The Liberal Democrats have now been clear that you do not.

“We will see in the long term how that plays out. I believe we have a fantastic scheme and I believe that this investment should be made in Harrogate for the long term and long lasting benefit of residents.”

Councillors from Harrogate and Knaresborough have reiterated calls for “meaningful” involvement in the £11.2 million Station Gateway scheme.

The request followed the news that representatives of the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire Combined Authority visited Harrogate yesterday.

They were given a tour of the town centre and shown through plans for major changes to Station Parade and surrounding routes.

Speaking at today’s meeting of Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, North Yorkshire Council‘s head of major projects and infrastructure Richard Binks said:

“It was the first time they had actually visited the site in person. They were really taken with what they saw.

“They really think the scheme’s fantastic and were showing a great deal of support for the project.”

However, members of the committee expressed surprise that they were unaware the visit was taking place.

At a heated meeting on May, the same committee had agreed to support the project, provided the committee was given “meaningful involvement” in its execution.

NYC’s officers were also asked to meet face-to-face with local residents and businesses, which today’s meeting also heard had not yet happened.

The committee members were presented with a petition of 2,000 signatures opposing the Station Gateway project by local resident Rachel Inchborough, who told the meeting:

“We feel we’ve had a lack of any in-person consultation for residents and it is of a key significance. We’ve been offered a quick Zoom session online, at short notice, to tick boxes.

“Residents feel this was a complete insult.”

Councillors voted in May to support the Station Gateway scheme

Some of the committee members queried the petition’s veracity, saying its signatories included people from as far away as South Africa.

They also pointed out that even 500 local signatures – the threshold needed to have the petition debated by the committee – were not representative of all views from local residents.

Several Conservative members of the committee said they did not want to undermine the original vote in May to support the proposal.

Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate, added:

“There’s a fundamental point here that this committee passed a resolution that we wanted a meaningful role in the implementation of the scheme.

“The chair is against the scheme. The chair wants to stop the scheme. The chair, despite what this committee said, went to the executive committee and implored them to stop the scheme. The petition wants to stop the scheme. The two things are at odds.

“We’re talking about people who want to stop the scheme, not who want meaningful input in the scheme. You can say what you like, but that’s the fact of the matter.

“I’m quite happy to have a meaningful role in implementing the scheme but we’re kidding ourselves if we think this is what this is.”

Read more:

• North Yorkshire councillors back £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway project
• As it happened: Councillors vote to SUPPORT Harrogate Station Gateway scheme

However, other councillors called for officers to uphold the wishes of the committee to engage with the community about the detail of the proposal.

Cllr Monika Slater, a Liberal Democrat who represents Bilton Grange and New Park, said:

“This isn’t about trying to overthrow a motion we already passed at the previous meeting.

“This is genuinely about looking at the concerns of specific individuals and seeing if there are ways of mitigating and therefore bringing more of the public on side of actually supporting a scheme and involving the local councillors much more in that process.”

Councillors voted by eight to four in favour of asking for a full list of meetings to be held with local groups and for committee members to be invited as well. They also supported the proposal of a working group being set up, with representation from both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, to focus on the Station Gateway project.

Cllr Chris Aldred, the Lib Dem representative for High Harrogate and Kingsley who put forward the motion, said:

“This is not designed to stop the scheme. It is designed for a scheme to continue.

“I voted for the original proposal and I’ve always said there are some parts of this scheme I find really attractive, One Arch being one of them.

“I do sincerely believe that we need to demonstrate that we’ve listened to the voices of the people who came to the last meeting, the people who’ve signed this petition.”

Local Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are to put aside political rivalries this week and urge North Yorkshire Council to support the £49 million redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

North Yorkshire Council will assume control of the conference and events centre when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished at the end of the month.

Harrogate Borough Council has staunchly defended the venue, even though it has often made an annual loss, on the grounds that it supports shops, hospitality and tourism across the district.

But there are fears the new council, based in Northallerton, might not be as keen — particularly at a time when the centre requires a huge investment to remain competitive.

A notice of motion, proposed by Liberal Democrat Chris Aldred and seconded by Conservative Sam Gibbs, will be debated at a full council meeting on Wednesday.

Councillors Aldred (left) and Gibbs

The motion says “a thriving Harrogate Convention Centre is central to the ongoing economic prosperity of the Harrogate district” and urges North Yorkshire Council to urgently set up a new management board for it. It adds:

“Council asks the new unitary authority to confirm its in principle support for the redevelopment plan for the centre and further asks that North Yorkshire councillors representing divisions within the Harrogate district are consulted during this ongoing process.”

Cllr Aldred, who represents Harrogate Fairfax, told the Stray Ferret:

“I am worried. People from outside the district will be making big decisions about the future of the district.

“We are all conscious of the enormous impact the centre has on Harrogate economically and the new council has this major development project that needs funding.

“”We don’t know what North Yorkshire Council is planning and want some urgency.”

Bed and breakfasts near the convention centre rely heavily on it.

The motion is expected to be approved as it has cross-party support. But some councillors in Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Masham and Boroughbridge, which are further away from the centre and feel less benefit, may rebel.

If it is voted through one of Harrogate Borough Council’s final acts will be to write to North Yorkshire Council asking it to commit to supporting the redevelopment. But it is far from certain whether the new authority will do so.

In January, Richard Flinton, the incoming chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, said the venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.

The same month, the UK government rejected Harrogate Borough Council’s bid for £20 million levelling up funds to support the redevelopment.

A councillor has called for a pause in housebuilding in Harrogate while work on a new local plan for the whole of North Yorkshire is drawn up.

In December, members of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive approved the creation of a new local plan, which must be finalised within five years of North Yorkshire Council being formed on April 1.

It will identify land that can be developed and will replace the seven local plans that are currently used by the soon-to-be-abolished district and borough councils.

This includes Harrogate Borough Council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which was adopted in 2020 and says over 13,000 homes can be built between 2014-2035. The council has said the document will guide planning decisions until the new local plan is created.

Harrogate’s local plan has led to large new housing developments being built in almost every corner of the district. Last month, approval was given to 162 more homes on Kingsley Drive in Harrogate and 1,300 homes at Clotherholme in Ripon.

But councillors have heard repeated concerns about whether the district’s roads, schools and GP practices can cope with the increase in housing.

Read more:

• New Harrogate district housing plan should not be ‘tickbox exercise’, says councillor
• Knaresborough housing site should be reviewed under local plan, says councillor

The thorny issue came up at a full meeting of North Yorkshire County Council on Friday.

Statistics released in the government’s last Housing Delivery Test revealed 1,641 homes — 266% above target — were built in the district between 2018 and 2021.

This led Liberal Democrat councillor for the High Harrogate and Kingsley division, Chris Aldred, to ask North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative executive member for planning for growth, Simon Myers, if the new council would consider pausing new applications in areas where these government targets are being met.

He said:

“There are areas within the county where we’re well ahead of scheduled housing delivery targets. In Harrogate we are 200% over-target according to the government’s own statistics.

“While we’re developing a new local plan for the county, could you consider in areas where we are well ahead of delivery, we actually pause the application process so we don’t get any houses in areas where we might not have done when we’ve got the new local plan.”

The new council will create six new planning committees to oversee decisions across parliamentary constituency areas, such as Harrogate and Knaresborough and Skipton and Ripon.

They will be set up with councillors from across the political spectrum voting on whether significant planning applications go ahead.

‘Misleading’ figure

After the meeting, Cllr Myers told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the 200% figure was misleading. He said:

“Essentially, Harrogate has only just caught up with its own housing targets. It isn’t 200% over. The development is all in accordance with the local plan and to halt development would put Harrogate at risk of the plan being seen as out of date and open the possibility of speculative development. And of course with development we hope to deliver affordable housing which is sorely needed in every part of the county.

“The figure of 200% ‘over delivery’ was published in the government’s housing delivery test calculation pre-adoption of the Harrogate local plan. This was based on delivery against the standard methodology figure that does reflect an accurate picture of need. If you look at delivery against the actual plan-target, the figure is lower.

“In summary, the 200% figure is misleading and the higher-than-plan-target delivery rates should not be cause for alarm as they reflect positive progress on addressing a significant shortfall and reflect a planned trajectory.”

North Yorkshire County Council has begun moves to permanently ban through traffic on Bogs Lane in Harrogate to make the area safer for pedestrians.

Bogs Lane, which becomes Kingsley Road shortly after Henshaws specialist college, is often used as a rat run for traffic trying to avoid the busy A59 Knaresborough Road.

The proposal — which is dependent on a landowner — has divided opinion.

Some say it will ease congestion and make walkers and cyclists safer in an area where more than 600 homes are being built; others say the knock-on effect would make traffic on Knaresborough Road “unbearable”.

North Yorkshire County Council’s area highways manager Melisa Burnham said:

“Kingsley Road has been closed recently to facilitate works on a housing development, and at various times over the last few years for roadworks and utility works. During the closures, the A59 Knaresborough Road has been the diversion for those wanting to use Bogs Lane.

“There is a long-term aspiration to close Bogs Lane to through traffic which would create a safe space for pedestrians. This is dependent on securing land from a third-party landowner. As part of this work, a Traffic Regulation Order has been published to seek feedback from the public about the proposal.”

The current Bogs Lane diversion

Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire County Council, said he supported the move:

“It would do away with the rat run once and for all and make the area much safer for pedestrians and cyclists, particularly schoolchildren who are amongst the main users of the road as pedestrians and cyclists at peak times.

“The closure also allows a safe and accessible link with the Harrogate greenway route from Starbeck.

“Maintaining pedestrian and cycle access during the current Redrow works at the bottom of Bogs Lane has already proved popular, judging by my email inbox.”

‘Driving congestion on to Knaresborough Road”

But Cathy Grimshaw, who lives on Rowan Close, off Bogs Lane, said the closure would exacerbate congestion on Knaresborough Road that has been “unbearable” since the temporary road closure began.

Ms Grimshaw added:

“By closing this through road they’re affecting anyone that uses Knaresborough Road as they’re driving the congestion onto the main road.

“I thought the new estates were on the basis that a pedestrian path would be built over the bridge so is it to avoid this expense?”

She added:

“The safety of pedestrians is imperative and the solution to that would be to build the path, not to close the road and drive 600 houses worth of vehicles onto Knaresborough Road which is already heavily congested.

“They should have thought about the infrastructure before approving hundreds of houses in one area. The new houses in Knaresborough have redesigned roads and built roundabouts to accommodate.”

Another resident, Julie Mooney, also raised concerns:

“Having lived on Kingsley Road and then at the other side of this closure I personally feel it’s a bad solution.

“It’s a difficult situation but one wholly of the council’s making in granting permission for so many new homes in this corridor without planning access.

“So many residents live one side of the railway but go to work or school on the other. It defies common sense to force all this traffic including that from all the new developments onto Knaresborough Road. It’s already at a virtual standstill at rush hour.”

Resident Mark Leng said the move could have benefits by ending the rat run but added “to avoid more congestion they need to halt all future works”.

Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee has approved a sixth housing development in the Kingsley area after a heated debate today.

The committee was split 6-6 on whether to accept 30 new homes at Kingsley Farm. It meant Rebecca Burnett, the chair of the committee, had the casting vote in favour.

It means more than 600 properties will be built in the Kingsley ward, where residents have already expressed exasperation at the scale of development and lack of supporting infrastructure.

Most of today’s debate centred on access to the site even though council case officer Kate Broadbank said the meeting should focus on the general principle of development. Access, she said, would be debated at the later reserved matters application for ironing out the details.

Ms Broadbank said there would be access roads to the development from Kingsley Road and Hawthorn Place. Creating the access road on Kingsley Road would, she said, require the removal of a stone wall and a ‘small number of trees’, which she said would be replaced.

Cllr Chris Aldred speaking today

Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents the area on North Yorkshire County Council, said the new access road on Kingsley Road would go through an orchard and mean there would be five junctions in the space of 150 yards.

He called for the decision to be deferred, adding:

“There’s no planning necessity for this site now. We have enough houses in Harrogate already. We can work on this slowly but surely.”

A local resident, Matt Hodgson, told the committee “access remains crucial at this stage when discussing the suitability of the site”.

‘We have listened’

Speaking on behalf of the applicant Quarters Kingsley Ltd, David Williams said it was a small local developer working alongside the landowner, who has owned the site for 100 years.

Mr Williams said it was a former chicken farm that had become an “overgrown wasteland” that had “no purpose”

David Williams speaking at the meeting

He said the applicants had already agreed to reduce the number of home from 49 to 30, adding:

“We have listened. We are doing everything we can to make a positive contribution to the area.”

Doctors and dentists

Pat Marsh, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Harrogate Hookstone asked if there would be any increased provision for doctors and dentists in the area.

Ms Broadbank said ‘there will be a contribution’ through the section 106 agreement which developers sign to pay for infrastructure associated with their schemes but where it was allocated would be a matter for the NHS.

Read more:

• Council recommends controversial Kingsley Farm homes be approved
• Kingsley residents call for halt to new housing decisions

All six councillors in favour of the scheme were Conservatives. Three Liberal Democrats, two Conservatives and one Independent opposed the recommendation to approve the principle of development on the land.

After the scheme was approved, Cllr Burnett berated Cllr Marsh for saying ‘shameful’.

“Can we have less bickering from the committee? I don’t think we need to hear ‘shameful’ shouted out when we have taken a democratic vote from all members of the committee.

“When things don’t go your way I don’t feel it’s acceptable for you to do that.”

Planning regulations should change to require developers to include infrastructure to support new homes, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s MP has said.

Andrew Jones told North Yorkshire County Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee yesterday he had raised the issue in parliament.

He was asked by Green Party councillor Arnold Warneken, whose Ouseburn division includes the planned up to 4,000-home Maltkiln settlement, whether more should be done to ensure infrastructure could cope with a sudden rise in the population.

Cllr Warneken said:

“When I’ve had meetings with the developers for Maltkiln, it has become apparent that they are going to use existing infrastructure until it bursts before they do anything about it.

“In reference to the sewage they are going to use an existing, archaic sewage system until it’s up to bursting level and then they’re going to put efforts in to have new infrastructure put in and new sewage, working with the water authority.

“I would like to see the planning system changed that allows us to say, if you are going to build something as big as 4,000 houses, that the road infrastructure, the sewage infrastructure, has to be put in place as part of that process.

“I know it sounds naive, because who is going to pick up that tab? But if we make it that it’s part of the planning process, we can maybe enforce the investment in it before it actually happens.”

Mr Jones said the development was not in his constituency but in Selby and Ainsty, represented by fellow Conservative MP, Nigel Adams.

However, he said he agreed with the principle of ensuring infrastructure was fit for new development, digital connectivity, micro-generation of power and insulation of new homes.

He added:

“I have raised the issue of building standards in parliament. I agree with the basic point that we need to have build standards that are fit for the future.

“It’s significantly easier to construct things during the earliest phases of a construction project rather than go back and retro-fit.

“That applies to more than just water but it certainly applies to water.”

Read more:

• Parliament debates bathing water status for River Nidd at Knaresborough
• Call to restart consultation on new Harrogate district town

‘Over-developed’

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred said he was frequently asked by people in his High Harrogate and Kingsley division about the amount of house-building.

He said there seemed to be too many large homes being built that were unaffordable to most local people, with no public transport, healthcare facilities or other provisions to support the growing population.

Cllr Aldred said he did not feel the planning system in the UK was fit for purpose and was too heavily weighted in favour of making profits for developers. He added:

“I really do think Harrogate and Knaresborough are over-developed. There are far too many people living in the area.

“The residents who have been here long-term are suffering because of this over-development.”

In response, Mr Jones said he had “no doubt” that more homes were needed across the country, with many people struggling to get onto the property ladder.

He said the local plan had provision for starter homes, but even creating that took a long time and would not always be popular with people who did not want to see their areas change.

He added:

“Getting the balance right between protecting areas and allowing people to get on the property ladder isn’t easy.

“I’m not sure we can say it’s over-developed. We’re certainly in a period where we have been under-developing across the country and people, I think, are very uneasy about all the work that has been done catching up on that.

“But I think if we get the right mix of houses so local people get a chance to put their roots down in their home areas and we see infrastructure developed in parallel then I think we can meet people’s needs and aspirations.”