Flaxby development set for High Court battle

A developer who wants to build 2,750 homes at Flaxby Park near Knaresborough has urged Harrogate Borough Council to delay making a decision until a judicial review takes place in the High Court next month.

Flaxby Park Ltd has been granted a judicial review that will examine HBC’s decision to choose Green Hammerton ahead of Flaxby for a new settlement in its Local Plan, which was adopted in March this year.

The Flaxby settlement would be on a former golf course four miles from Knaresborough and include a retirement village and two primary schools, as well as retail and office space.

The proposal is due to go before HBC’s planning committee on Tuesday, almost three years after it was first submitted.

A report prepared by HBC officers recommends committee members refuse the development because the Local Plan now allocates Green Hammerton for the new settlement.

But the developer says the council’s decision to choose Green Hammerton was based on “flawed information of a scant, conflicting and contradictory nature”.

The judicial review will take place on October 27, 28, and 29 at the High Court in London.

A judge will decide whether the decision was lawful and followed the correct procedure.

If found to be unlawful, the decision on where to place the new settlement may have to made again. Flaxby Park Ltd told the Stray Ferret this would be a “game-changer” for the Harrogate district.

‘Defer a decision’

In a statement released to the Stray Ferret, Chris Musgrave, chief executive at Flaxby Park Ltd, questioned the timing of the decision to bring the plans before councillors now, just weeks before the High Court date.

He said:

“Bearing in mind that the planning application was submitted to the council almost three years ago, we fail to understand why planning officers have decided to present the application on October 6, but I urge the planning committee to follow the right course of action and defer a decision on the application until the judicial review has been concluded.”

Mr Musgrave also said Flaxby Park Ltd was not told of the council’s decision to bring the plans before the planning committee until the company was contacted by the Stray Ferret this week. He said this gave them less than a week to prepare, puttng them at a disadvantage.

‘Separate processes’

A HBC spokesperson said Flaxby Park Ltd was not informed about next week’s planning committee meeting due to a “technical error”. The spokesperson said:

“While we do not agree that the applicant has been disadvantaged we do apologise for the error. As a gesture of goodwill we have offered the applicant a potential deferent of the application by a week, if they feel they need more time to prepare for the meeting.”

But the spokesperson said the council would not defer the planning committee meeting until after the judicial review:

“We are not proposing to defer consideration of this application until the judicial review has taken place, as these are two very separate procedural processes.”

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Council accused of ‘steamrollering’ through Green Hammerton plans

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.

Developer launches judicial review into major extension to Green Hammerton

Flaxby Park Ltd has launched a judicial review into the controversial decision to build a major extension to Green Hammerton.

After a bitter debate over where to build thousands of new homes in the east of the district, Harrogate Borough Council formally adopted its local plan in March and took the decision to build at Green Hammerton.

The local plan was backed by the government’s Planning Inspector, Richard Schofield, despite a long fought battle from residents in Green Hammerton who argued strongly that it was not required.

It will see up to 3,000 new homes built and extended into nearby Kirk Hammerton and Cattal.

But residents of Green Hammerton said the better option was to build the homes in Flaxby, while land owners in Flaxby agreed that the village’s disused golf course would be a good site for new houses.

But the council went ahead and adopted its plan and now faces a review over whether its decision was lawful or not.

Flaxby Park Ltd, the developer behind the Flaxby site, confirmed it has launched a judicial review into the decision but could not comment further at this time.

Chris Eaton, co-chair of the Keep The Hammertons Green Action Group (KTHG), said residents will get behind the review. He said:

“KTHG produced evidence-based and persuasive arguments that demonstrate that a new settlement is not required and, if even if it were, there are better locations, such as at Flaxby Park.

“We were most disappointed with the inspector’s report on the examination of the Harrogate District Plan that was published in January 2020.

“KTHG said at the time that we do not agree with or accept those parts of the Inspector’s report which relate to the requirement for a new settlement and the selection of its location in the broad location of Green Hammerton and Cattal.

“We are not surprised to hear that the potential developers of the Flaxby site are mounting a legal challenge and we shall follow the matter with great interest.”

What is a judicial review?

A judicial review is when a claimant asks for a review of a decision made by a government body or local authority.

The review looks at whether or not the decision made was lawful and followed the right procedure.

If it is found to be unlawful, it could mean the decision has to be made again.