Harrogate looks set to get a Tesco supermarket after a long-running saga dating back more than a decade.
The store will be built on the site of the former gasworks, off Skipton Road, and include a petrol station and 209 car parking spaces. It is expected to create about 100 jobs.
Harrogate Borough Council ‘s planning committee has been recommended to approve the plans next week, despite “significant concerns” about the impact on the nearby Co-op in Jennyfields and neighbouring shops.
In her report recommending approval, case officer Kate Broadbank says there is “real potential for the proposed Tesco store to have a significant adverse impact upon the Co-op store and the wider performance of the Jennyfield local centre”.
The report adds the cumulative impact of a new Tesco on the Co-op could be as high as -22.4% and the Co-op “acts as a key anchor to the local centre, including its wider post office offer”.
The local centre in Jennyfields
Tesco will therefore be asked to sign an agreement to use “reasonable endeavours” to open a Tesco Express at Jennyfields local centre if the Co-op closes within five years of Tesco opening and will operate this for at least five years.
Ms Broadbank’s report adds:
“A post office and pharmacy would also be required. An additional clause has also been added that requires an independent expert to determine matters should dispute arise between Tesco and the council, as to whether the replacement store can be provided.”
New footpath and cycle lane
The report says no environmental impact assessment will be necessary for the brownfield site project even though trees will be felled on the north side of Skipton Road to accommodate the creation of a new roundabout at the site entrance, where the A61 Ripon Road and A59 Skipton Road meet at New Park.
The site of the former gasworks
North Yorkshire County Council plans to widen Oak Beck Bridge in a scheme that could see six months of roadworks in the area.
The report adds:
“A continuous footpath will be provided along the northern edge of the roundabout with additional uncontrolled pedestrian refuge island crossings on the site access and the eastern arm of Skipton Road.
“A new segregated cycle lane will be provided along the south of Skipton Road from the access to the bridleway further along Skipton Road. These works will be secured by condition and a Section 106 agreement.”
The 209 parking spaces will include four click and collect spaces, six electric vehicle charging spaces, 12 blue badge spaces and nine parent and child spaces. Two motorcycle spaces and 24 cycle spaces are also provided.
£50,000 for bus services
North Yorkshire County Council has requested a contribution from Tesco for improvements to bus stops on Skipton Road and Ripon Road. Ms Broadbank’s report adds:
“North Yorkshire County Council wish to provide a new bus service in the Killinghall area as part of the bus service contribution from the housing development on Penny Pot Lane and these additional improvements would add value to the new service and help encourage sustainable travel by bus to reach the new store.
“A contribution of £50,000 (£10,000 per bus stop) is requested to help fund this service and will help provide new extended shelters with information boards, seating and where necessary raised kerbs to each carriageway.”
The report also says discussions have taken place between the applicant and Northern Gas Networks about “potential interaction” between the proposed petrol station and an existing Northern Gas Networks high pressure gas transmission pipeline located beneath the site.
It says the risk of interaction is “acceptably low”.
The site is highlighted on a planning document.
Majority opposed to scheme
The council received 82 representations about the scheme. Just 24 were supportive and 57 objected, mainly on the grounds of amenity, traffic, environmental and drainage impacts.
Ms Broadbank has recommended the project be approved subject to conditions being met. The Conservative-controlled planning committee will decide whether to accept her recommendation when it meets on Tuesday next week. The meeting will be broadcast live on the council’s YouTube page.
It will be the penultimate meeting of the planning committee before Harrogate Borough Council is abolished at the end of next month.
Ms Broadbank’s report concludes:
“In summary, the development is acceptable in principle and meets the requirements of the sequential and retail impact tests with appropriate mitigation.
“The scheme uses previously developed land and is in a sustainable location within the development limits of Harrogate.
“The design and landscaping of the buildings are appropriate for this site and impacts with regards to the residential amenity, environmental impact and highways are acceptable.
“The development will create jobs and provide social, environmental and economic benefits to the local area.
“The scheme is in accordance with the development plan policies as a whole and represents sustainable development as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.”
Tesco first secured planning permission on the site in 2012 but revived its plans in December 2021.
Read more:
- New Tesco supermarket would threaten future of Jennyfields Co-op, warns report
- Waitrose objects to plans for new Tesco in Harrogate
Bid to demolish gas holder on Harrogate’s Skipton Road
Northern Gas Networks has revealed plans to demolish the gas holder and three other buildings on Skipton Road, Harrogate.
Notices have gone up near the former gasworks saying the company has contacted Harrogate Borough Council to find out whether it needs permission to carry out the demolition work.
Tesco, which bought the site from Northern Gas Networks for £2.8 million in 2003, has submitted plans to build a new supermarket on the land. A decision has yet to be made.
Mark Johnson, senior projects manager for Northern Gas Networks, which is responsible for distributing gas, said:
“The notice relates to work we are proposing to carry out on our own site, to safely dismantle and remove the existing gas holder located there.
“Because of advances in technology and the enhanced capability of the modern-day gas network, the holder is no longer used so the decision was taken to remove it using specialist teams.
“The application is part of a standard process we undertake with every local authority where we are removing a gas holder.”
Planning documents submitted to the council say “the gas holder is below ground and comprises of an outer tank wall with two inner lifts” and that “the general condition of the tank is believed to be in good order”.
Read more:
- Gas supplier objects to Tesco plans in Harrogate
- Co-op claims new Tesco would cut takings at Jennyfields store by 15%
They add:
“The works will consist of the removal of wastewater, sludge, and any other debris from inside the gas holder, establish site welfare arrangements including environmental monitoring stations, time lapse cameras, erection of temporary traffic management arrangements, erect and maintain temporary Heras’s fencing, erect a scaffolding crash deck to protect the MP/LP regulators on site and agreed ground protection measures to underground pipework.”
The documents say the site “is situated near to a highly populated residential and commercial area” and “it is vitally important that the demolition method statement deploys approved monitor systems for measuring nuisance noise, dust and vibration and will have a provision in place should these levels reach unacceptable levels in accordance with current legislation”.
They add:
“Access to all neighbouring properties, footpaths and roads will be maintained at all times during the works,
unless the works activity presents significant risk that will require a closure.”
It is not known how long the work would take.
Gas supplier objects to Tesco plans in HarrogateNorthern Gas Networks has submitted an objection on Tesco’s plans to build a new supermarket in Harrogate.
The supermarket giant has lodged proposals to Harrogate Borough Council for a new store on the former gasworks in the New Park area of town.
Northern Gas Networks, which sold the site to Tesco for £2.8 million in 2003, is concerned about the potential impact on Harrogate’s gas supply.
The site of the proposed Tesco.
In its formal objection on the council planning portal, NGN said it retained legal rights on a high pressure pipeline at the site that was “instrumental in supplying gas to the town”. It says the legal rights enable it to prevent any building on or near the length of the pipeline.
The pipe cuts across the north-eastern side of the site from Skipton Road to Oak Beck.
It is standard practice for NGN to object to any plans which are close or over a high pressure pipeline. Its objection aims to ensure the company, which distributes gas to 2.7 million homes in northern England, will be involved in the planning process.
Read more:
A spokesperson for Tesco said:
“We will consider all feedback received on our application. We will have further discussions with Harrogate Borough Council about the issues raised.”
Artist impression of how the Tesco will look on Skipton Road.
Tesco has harboured ambitions for a new store in the town for almost 20 years. The retailer previously had plans approved in 2009, but pulled out after opposition from local traders.
Although many people have welcomed the prospect of a new supermarket in the north of Harrogate, some are concerned about traffic plus access to the site.
However, the company has said in transport documents submitted to the council that the site would see fewer car journeys than under previous plans.
