Another 135 homes off Harrogate’s Skipton Road set for approval

Plans to build up to 135 homes off Skipton Road in Harrogate look set to be approved next week.

Harrogate company Rowan Green Developments submitted plans to North Yorkshire Council for a development on 8.8 hectares of agricultural land at Cow Dyke Farm, between the New Park roundabout and the Curious Cow of Harrogate roundabout.

Up to 54 homes termed affordable would be included.

Council case officer Helen Goulden has recommended members of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee approve the application, subject to 33 conditions, when it meets on Tuesday, March 26. The meeting will be broadcast live online by the council here.

Ms Goulden said in her 34-page report:

“The proposed development will make a valuable contribution to meeting housing need, including the delivery of affordable housing.

“The proposal will have an acceptable impact on the character and appearance of the area and no issues are raised at this outline stage in terms of highway matters, trees, ecology, or amenity.”

The land allocated for the scheme.

Her report added, however, that an outstanding objection from the lead local flood authority still required resolving.

The application, described in the report as “a significant and sensitive development”, received 71 objections and no representations of support during the public consultation phase.

The key concerns include the adverse impact on the character of the area, the visual impact, the loss of agricultural land and the loss of trees, hedgerows and wildlife habitat.

The site, which is included for development in the Harrogate District Local Plan 2014-35, has a long planning history.

A bid for 180 homes in 2018 was refused amid concerns for housing density and further plans were then submitted for 145 homes.

The site is located on two fields of agricultural grassland to the north of the A59 Skipton Road (A59) towards the northwestern edge of Harrogate.

A map showing the site north of Skipton Road.

Killinghall Parish Council said in its consultation response it “neither objects nor supports the scheme” but raised various concerns, including problematic site access during construction.

The council suggested the developer should contribute £1.2 million for funding school expansion and new school places at primary and secondary level in mitigation for the impact of the scheme.

It has also called for an additional £369,000 to be spent on enhancing “various off-site open spaces in the locality and Killinghall Village Hall”.

A design and access statement on behalf of the developer said:

“Cow Dyke Farm will be a special place in Harrogate; strongly rooted in its landscape setting, with a unique character, providing the best of town country living.

“The site presents a wonderful opportunity for the provision of new housing within the wider setting of Harrogate in a site which strongly benefits from its strategic connections to the town and surrounding areas.”

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Teens set fire to abandoned farm buildings on Skipton Road

A group of teenagers is believed to have set fire to abandoned farm buildings between Killinghall and Harrogate.

Cow Dyke Farm, on Skipton Road, was targeted on June 20 at about 7.15pm.

It has been the victim of numerous arson attacks in the past.

North Yorkshire Police today issued an appeal to help find the culprits behind the latest incident.

It said in a statement:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, we are appealing for information about any identification of people who were in that area at the time.”

You can call the police on 101, select option two and ask for Joshua Harrison. The officer can also be contacted on Joshua.Harrison@northyorkshire.police.uk.

The police reference number is 12210143681.

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