Flaxby eco-homes plan refused

Councillors have refused a plan to build four environmentally-friendly homes at Flaxby, near Knaresborough.

It follows two larger applications that were refused by the defunct Harrogate Borough Council in 2021 and 2022, with those decisions upheld on appeal.

The plots on York Road were identified for people who want to build their homes. According to documents submitted by developer Ben Holmes from Holmes Planning Ltd, utility bills would have been reduced to “as close to zero as possible”.

This would be achieved through solar panels on the roofs and air-source heat pumps instead of gas boilers.

The homes would be designed according to Passivhaus principles, which is an innovative design code that prioritises insulation so that a home doesn’t need any heating or cooling at all resulting in minimal energy bills.

The developer also said the homes would adopt rainwater harvesting technology to reduce water consumption.

North Yorkshire Council has a waiting list of people wanting to build their own homes in the county and the developer said the scheme would help meet a demand.

The proposed site at Flaxby.

Councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s Selby and Ainsty planning committee met yesterday at Selby Civic Centre to consider the latest application.

The plans received several objections from villagers in Flaxby.

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Caroline Greenhalgh, a councillor on Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council, told the committee she believed the site was unsuitable for development.

She added:

“There’s no infrastructure, services or adequate public transport.”

Mr Holmes addressed councillors and said the homes would be built to an “incredibly high standard”.

He said:

“These are going to be extremely green properties. It’s not a perfect site, I accept that, but it’s a good site.

“People will use their cars to get there however does that outweigh the benefits the site will bring? I say no it doesn’t.

“I firmly believe if you ask the public what they think, the majority would support this application.”

Ahead of the meeting, the plans were recommended for refusal in an officer report due to harm to the countryside and the loss of agricultural land.

Councillors ended up backing the recommendation and unanimously voted to refuse the plans.

Mark Crane, the Conservative councillor for Brayton and Barlow, said:

“I strongly support self-build however it’s clear as clear can be that this is not the site for it. Seldom have I seen so many reasons for refusal.”

Council rejects Flaxby eco-home plan for second time

Harrogate Borough Council has rejected plans for a development of eco-homes near Flaxby for a second time.

Holmes Planning Ltd submitted a planning application to the council for five homes off York Road in June this year.

The move followed the authority rejecting a plan for nine homes in January. The government also refused the proposal on appeal.

It would have seen houses built to environmental standards and included solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation. The houses were planned to be custom built.

In its latest application, Holmes Planning said it had addressed the concerns of the inspector including reducing the number of homes.

However, in a decision notice, the council said the proposal was “outside the development limits of any village or settlement”.

It added:

“The proposed five dwellings and associated paraphernalia would extend the built form into an undeveloped parcel of open agricultural land on the edge of Flaxby, which contributes to the rural character and landscape setting of the village.”

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Flaxby parish council calls for government to reject eco-homes

Parish councillors in Flaxby have called on the government to refuse a proposal for a nine-home eco-development in the village.

Holmes Planning Ltd has appealed a decision by Harrogate Borough Council to refuse the development off York Road.

It would have seen houses built to environmental standards and include solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation. The houses were planned to be custom built.

Following refusal by the authority, the developer took the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

However, in a letter to the government, Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council said the previous reasons for refusal still stand.

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It added that a lack of custom build homes in the district was “simply not enough of a justification to permit the building of nine individual self-build houses on the land in question”.

The letter said:

“We are parish councillors, ordinary people with neither the skills nor the knowledge to quote such housing policies inside out, simply representing the residents of Flaxby, whose homes and lives would be detrimentally affected should this planning appeal be approved.”

But, in documents submitted for the challenge, the developer argued that there were not enough custom build developments in the district.

It said:

“The appellant submits that the custom self-build deficit is so severe, and likely to get worse, that this material consideration outweighs any departure from the Harrogate District Local Plan and that the appeal site is suitable for custom self-build and the appeal, if allowed, would be secured for custom self-build through the Unilateral Undertaking.”

A government planning inspector will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Developer appeals decision to reject Harrogate district eco-homes

A developer has appealed a decision to refuse plans for nine new eco-homes near Flaxby.

Holmes Planning Ltd submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council for the development in October 2021.

It would have seen houses built to environmental standards and include solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation.

It also included self-build and custom homes on the site at York Road in Flaxby.

The council rejected the plan on the grounds that it was outside the development boundary, the affect on the character of the area and because the number of homes was below the council’s requirement per hectare.

However, the developer has appealed the decision to the government.

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In documents submitted for the challenge, the developer argued that there was not enough custom build developments in the district.

It said:

“The appellant submits that the custom self-build deficit is so severe, and likely to get worse, that this material consideration outweighs any departure from the Harrogate District Local Plan and that the appeal site is suitable for custom self-build and the appeal, if allowed, would be secured for custom self-build through the Unilateral Undertaking.”

A government planning inspector will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Eco-development could be catalyst for green housing in Harrogate district

There are hopes nine ‘eco-homes’ that could be built near Knaresborough will be a catalyst for greener housebuilding in the Harrogate district.

Ben Holmes, from Birstwith, has submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council for the cutting-edge development, which would be built to strict environmental standards and include solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation.

There would even be a communal vegetable garden to reduce the need to drive to shops.

A different model

Mr Holmes’ proposed scheme for York Road in Flaxby would be a community self-build development, which is a different model of housebuilding from what is usually seen.

If he is granted planning permission, he will install infrastructure, such as paths, water, drainage and a communal area, on the site.

He will then sell each of the nine plots to people who want to build their own home. The buyers then hire an architect and builder and design a home to suit their family’s needs.

Mr Holmes’ said this allowed for a customisable approach rather than buying identikit cookie-cutter homes on a large estate.

He said:

“You see these houses and they’ve all got their gas boilers. It is wrong way to build houses. Your big developers get as many homes on as possible and there is a lack of variation and creativity. It is soulless.

“There is a different way of building houses.”

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Lower energy bills

Harrogate Borough Council has a register of about 200 people who want to build their own home. Mr Holmes said there is an appetite in the district who people who want to have more of a say in how their home is built.

Anyone buying a plot to build their home will have to abide by a framework of environmental rules.

This includes Passivhaus certification and the Home Quality Mark from BRE.

Developed in Germany in the 1990s, Passivhaus is seen as a game-changer for low-carbon housing. It’s an innovative design code that prioritises insulation so that a home doesn’t need any heating or cooling at all, resulting in minimal energy bills.

There is only a handful of Passivhaus homes in the district, including the Larners’ house on Bogs Lane in Harrogate.

Mr Holmes also said the houses may be factory-built, bypassing much of the polluting construction process that comes with traditional bricks and mortar homes.

He added:

“Hopefully this site will act as a catalyst for the area to build more Passivhaus. It’s a high bar to get to that standard.”