Residents who live adjacent to the 95-home Granby Farm development have complained to Harrogate Borough Council about the height of some of the new properties being built, saying they will “tower over them”.

The council investigated the complaint and found Redrow Homes breached planning rules at the development by starting to build 15 houses before receiving the correct planning approval.

Outline planning permission for the development was granted in April 2021. It will be called Granby Meadows and will have a mixture of 95 one, two, three and four-bedroom properties.

In recent months, contractors have started preparing the land, laying roads, and building some of the houses.

The homes are being built on a field that is prone to flooding and the council said some of the homes are being built between 0.5m and 1.35m above existing ground level to help with drainage.  However, the increase in the ground elevation had not been approved at the planning stage.

Residents concerns

Granby Residents Association, which includes people living in properties adjacent to the development, complained to the council that the homes were being built too high and would “tower over” nearby homes.

Gary Walker, a member of the group, said:

“Residents along the site boundary with both Roseville Drive and Kingsley Drive expressed grave concerns once the work on the infrastructure commenced.

“You only have to visit the properties on Kingsley Drive to see how high the levels have been increased and how these new houses will tower over them.”

Work underway at the site.

Read more:

• Granby residents demand action on ‘banging and crashing’ from noisy pile driver
• Harrogate residents disappointed at 95-home Granby Farm approval

Mr Walker shared with the Stray Ferret email correspondence he had with the council’s planning enforcement officer Andrew Lancashire.

Mr Lancashire confirmed that work on 15 homes took place before the planning condition had been discharged.

He wrote:

“It would appear that the foundations for the units 80-94 have been laid and ground levels will be raised between 0.5m to 1.35m above the existing ground levels to the internal finished floor level (FFL) of the new dwellings.

“The engineering operation to increase the FFL were not approved at the planning stage and development has begun without these planning conditions first being discharged. This is a breach of planning.”

Action

Mr Lancashire said the council investigated the planning breach further to decide what action to take.

As the homes would be up to 1.35m taller, he measured what the distance was between them and Kingsley Drive.

He found all met the recommended distance except for two properties. 

Mr Lancashire said the difference was “relatively minor” and requested that trees be planted as mitigation.

He wrote that Redrow Homes have “recognised this shortfall and are in the process of submitting a revised and enhanced landscape buffer to deal with this situation”.

David Faraday, technical director for Redrow (Yorkshire), said:

“We are developing this site in accordance with the approved plans. Prior to the planning permission being granted we had supplied all relevant and requested information to the council regarding site levels.

“We are currently liaising with officers at the council regarding an issue identified with the site levels and we have committed to provide additional landscaping along the boundary. This will be maintained long-term, initially by our site team and on an ongoing basis by a management company for the site, once they have been appointed.

“Site drainage proposals remain consistent with the strategy agreed during the planning process and Yorkshire Water have confirmed their intention to adopt the scheme as proposed.”

A Boroughbridge care home, garage and homeowners have been fighting against the floods with pumps and mops today.

Persistent rain from Storm Christoph caused water levels to rise, which caused particular problems for people living near the River Ure and Milby Cut Canal.

The level of the Ure peaked last night at about 15 metres as concerned residents watched on powerlessly.

Stephen Jenkins (pictured above), who owns the Riverside Court care home, has had water pumped out of the basement today. He told the Stray Ferret:

“I’ve been here since 1989. When Boroughbridge flooded in 1991 the care home was protected. But in 2000 the Environment Agency opened up this third arch of the bridge.

“Ever since then the water starts seeping out underneath the patio. If they don’t put that pump in it starts to flood. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about it now.

“My main concern is the boilers. Obviously being a care home we need to keep the central heating running at all times. We also have all of our fridges and freezers on pallets permanently.”

Malcolm Angus, who owns Canal Garage in Boroughbridge.

Flooding is also a long-running source of frustration for Malcolm Angus, owner of Canal Garage in Boroughbridge.

Read more:

• Eight flood alerts and warnings remain active
• Tense night ahead as worst of storm approaches

Mr Angus and staff have been mopping the floor today. He told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been lucky this time, the water has come up further before. There’s a burst water main up the road, which is bringing the water down.

“It pools at that junction and then comes across to the garage, that’s causing the problem at the moment, not the canal.

“Cars go through the water on the road and it flows down to us. We get no help. In terms of the canal I have lived here since 1995 and it has not been dredged once.”

Pumps have been out in force today.

On the nearby Milby Cut Canal, Nigel Crowther owns a home looking over the water. He remains calm about the situation:

“I have been keeping track on the Environment Agency website. It doesn’t matter what is happening in Boroughbridge, it’s about what is happening further up the catchment.

“So when you know it is going to be heavy rain for a sustained period you have to get ready so we have put up gates and we have a flood wall around our house.

“The levels peaked at about 10pm last night and it sustained that level for four hours before it started to drop off slowly.”

One of the oldest inns in Knaresborough has been sold with planning permission to convert it to a pub and six homes.

The Board Inn, which is situated in a prime town centre location next to the bus station, was sold by Harrogate estate agents FSS Property after eight months on the market.

The property fetched “very close” to the guide price of £325,000, according to the estate agents.

It was sold under auction conditions at the end of last month with planning permission for a public house, two flats and four houses.

The buyer’s details have not been revealed but the town’s easy access to the A1 make it an enticing option for developers looking for residential opportunities.

The pub has been sold at a time when Knaresborough’s high street has seen several new shops.

Read more:

• The growth of housing in Knaresborough has encouraged the county council to discuss opening a new primary school.
• Knaresborough’s former Natwest bank building is planned to be converted into a home.

Recently, the town of Knaresborough has been showing positive signs of regeneration. Several new shops have opened on the high street in recent months.

Residents in North Rigton say they will continue to fight council plans to build more homes on their street.

The battle started in 2006 when Harrogate Borough Council planned to demolish all of the garages in Brackenwell Lane for more homes.

Harvey Alexander, chairman of the North Righton Community Association, said they managed to get the council to partially back down then.

Read more:

• Why a seven-month-long road closure could kill this Harrogate pub
• Where you can see the Ripon Barracks proposals online

They argued that the space in front of the garages is the only turning point and the grass there is also where kids play.

Years later Harvey says the council has broken its promise to leave the area alone. He fears that, if the development went ahead, it would also create a “nightmare parking” situation.

“You can see how crowded the street is at 6.30pm and it gets worse later on. It’s going to be a parking nightmare. The council are going against the promise they made back in 2006, it is frustrating. This would cause chaos, there are plenty of other places to build homes. We don’t have the amenities.”

Six garages could be demolished for development.

The council has proposed to demolish the six-car garage to erect two dwellings on Brackenwell Lane, losing ten car parking spaces in total.

Currently, there is no date for the council to make its decision on the development. The Stray Ferret approached Harrogate Borough Council for a comment but did not receive a reply.