A 38-acre employment site near Knaresborough that could support 2,000 jobs has been sold for an undisclosed fee.

Ilkey property developer Opus North and London-based fund manager Bridges Fund Management have bought the site from a private individual.

They say the development could make a “significant contribution” to the local economy.

The site, located south-west of junction 47 of the A1(M) near to Flaxby Park is allocated as an employment site in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, which sets out the area’s policy and planning framework until 2035.

The site benefits from existing planning permission for over half a million square feet of development for employment uses.

The two companies will now develop a masterplan for the site, alongside stakeholders including Harrogate Borough Council, which “maximises its job-creating potential”.

An Opus North spokesperson told the Stray Ferret a decision on what type of employment the site could support will be made at a future date.

An outline planning application will be submitted to HBC later this year.

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Ryan Unsworth, development director of Opus North, said:

“This is a site with clear potential to make a significant contribution to the local economy through job creation and also through the delivery of high-quality office and logistics accommodation to meet existing and future market demand.

“With our joint venture partner, we are in a position to bring this development to life and are looking forward to continuing our discussions with both the council and local stakeholders to create an exemplar development to address the local and regional shortages of employment space.”

Harrogate Borough Council has been accused of “steamrollering”  through plans to build a 3,000 home settlement at Green Hammerton.

After a bitter battle over where to build the new homes, HBC formally adopted its local plan in March and took the decision to build at Green Hammerton and Cattal, eight miles to the west of York.

HBC announced last week it is preparing a New Settlement Development Plan Document (DPD) ahead of a public consultation later this summer. The DPD will establish the boundary of the settlement, have details on the types of houses available and outline where new roads could be built.

Chris Eaton from the Keep Green Hammerton Green group told the Stray Ferret that the local community in Green Hammerton has not played a role in the formation of the DPD, which he said goes against promises made by the full council when the Local Plan was adopted.

He said residents were “hugely disappointed” to read the DPD update.

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He said:

“Harrogate Borough Council continue to pay lip service to their obligations and steamroller their policies through without meaningful consultation or involvement of the local communities.

“This means residents having a genuine role in deciding where the boundaries of the new settlement should lie within the so-called Green Hammerton/Cattal broad location. Consultation on a proposal already made by council planners without that stakeholder input would not be the stakeholder engagement promised.

“Whilst we realise the present pandemic has placed constraints on dialogue with council officers, the proper placement of the new settlement is too important a decision to be made with undue and unnecessary haste. We would urge planning officers to ensure that what is termed a consultation strategy does indeed mean residents having a say in the DPD right from the outset.”

A council spokesman told the Stray Ferret that HBC has been designing a “consultation strategy” with local parish councils and residents’ groups.

He said:

“We’re working up a consultation strategy with parish councils and interested residents’ groups ahead of a consultation in the autumn.

“We have received helpful suggestions from local groups and we will be back in touch shortly confirming our approach to ensure as many people are aware and involved as possible.”

The new settlement was originally planned for Flaxby on the outskirts of Knaresborough. In May, Flaxby Park Ltd, the developer behind the Flaxby site, launched a judicial review into HBC’s decision.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret last week, former Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Phil Willis questioned the decision to build at Green Hammerton.