Plan to convert Ripon office block into 16 flats approved

A plan to convert the Athelstan Court office block in Ripon into 16 flats has been approved.

Site owners Athelstan Court Ltd proposed the scheme to convert the building, which has stood empty for 10 years.

The building on Kearsley Road lies within the College Business Park. It was previously used as offices by the Inland Revenue.

Now, Harrogate Borough Council has approved the scheme.

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The developer said the proposal to convert the site into housing would regenerate the current building.

It said:

“It is considered that the proposal would complement the area, and significantly enhance the character and visual amenities of the surrounding area, by regenerating a vacant building.”

Councillor calls for housebuilding in Harrogate to be paused

A councillor has called for a pause in housebuilding in Harrogate while work on a new local plan for the whole of North Yorkshire is drawn up.

In December, members of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive approved the creation of a new local plan, which must be finalised within five years of North Yorkshire Council being formed on April 1.

It will identify land that can be developed and will replace the seven local plans that are currently used by the soon-to-be-abolished district and borough councils.

This includes Harrogate Borough Council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which was adopted in 2020 and says over 13,000 homes can be built between 2014-2035. The council has said the document will guide planning decisions until the new local plan is created.

Harrogate’s local plan has led to large new housing developments being built in almost every corner of the district. Last month, approval was given to 162 more homes on Kingsley Drive in Harrogate and 1,300 homes at Clotherholme in Ripon.

But councillors have heard repeated concerns about whether the district’s roads, schools and GP practices can cope with the increase in housing.

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The thorny issue came up at a full meeting of North Yorkshire County Council on Friday.

Statistics released in the government’s last Housing Delivery Test revealed 1,641 homes — 266% above target — were built in the district between 2018 and 2021.

This led Liberal Democrat councillor for the High Harrogate and Kingsley division, Chris Aldred, to ask North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative executive member for planning for growth, Simon Myers, if the new council would consider pausing new applications in areas where these government targets are being met.

He said:

“There are areas within the county where we’re well ahead of scheduled housing delivery targets. In Harrogate we are 200% over-target according to the government’s own statistics.

“While we’re developing a new local plan for the county, could you consider in areas where we are well ahead of delivery, we actually pause the application process so we don’t get any houses in areas where we might not have done when we’ve got the new local plan.”

The new council will create six new planning committees to oversee decisions across parliamentary constituency areas, such as Harrogate and Knaresborough and Skipton and Ripon.

They will be set up with councillors from across the political spectrum voting on whether significant planning applications go ahead.

‘Misleading’ figure

After the meeting, Cllr Myers told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the 200% figure was misleading. He said:

“Essentially, Harrogate has only just caught up with its own housing targets. It isn’t 200% over. The development is all in accordance with the local plan and to halt development would put Harrogate at risk of the plan being seen as out of date and open the possibility of speculative development. And of course with development we hope to deliver affordable housing which is sorely needed in every part of the county.

“The figure of 200% ‘over delivery’ was published in the government’s housing delivery test calculation pre-adoption of the Harrogate local plan. This was based on delivery against the standard methodology figure that does reflect an accurate picture of need. If you look at delivery against the actual plan-target, the figure is lower.

“In summary, the 200% figure is misleading and the higher-than-plan-target delivery rates should not be cause for alarm as they reflect positive progress on addressing a significant shortfall and reflect a planned trajectory.”

Plans approved for 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks

Councillors have approved plans to build 1,300 homes at Ripon’s army barracks, subject to conditions.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee met this afternoon to consider an application from government housing agency Homes England, which has been developing the plans for several years alongside the Ministry of Defence.

Councillors were split over the scheme’s impact on roads in the city as well as whether historical military buildings on the site, which were used during both world wars, would be protected.

Votes were tied at six for and six against supporting the officer’s recommendation to defer the plans to officers to approve, subject to conditions.

This meant the committee’s chair, the Conservative councillor for Harrogate St Georges, Rebecca Burnett, cast the deciding vote to see the plans passed.

Clotherholme

The military is set to vacate the site in 2026 but phased work will now begin.

The housing scheme is called Clotherholme and also includes a new primary school, sports pitches, retail, food and drink units, and a 60-bed care home.

The site is home to the Royal Engineers and consists of Deverell Barracks to the east, Claro Barracks to the west and Laver Banks to the south.

Homes England says 3,000 people will live there to increase the population of Ripon by a fifth, although this does not take into account the loss of military personnel who have lived in the community for decades.

It’s expected that all the homes would be built by 2035 and 30% will be classed as affordable.

No new road

Campaigners have long raised fears about the impact on local roads and there have been calls to include a relief road via Galphay Road, but this was rejected.

Access to the site would be from Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road.

Homes England undertook traffic studies that predicted queues and delays at existing junctions if the homes were built, so changes to the Low Skellgate, Coltsgate Hill and Clock Tower junctions have been proposed as part of 28 alterations to the existing road network.

A new roundabout would also be created at the junction of Kirkby Road and Chatham Road.

‘Hell to drive through’

Liberal Democrat county councillor Barbara Brodigan spoke on behalf of Ripon Spa Residents’ Action Group against the plans.

Cllr Brodigan said she was not against the site being developed but objected to the number of homes proposed. She said a relief road should be built to accommodate any increase in traffic. She said:

“The city was founded 600 years ago and the layout of its streets and centre has hardly changed. It’s pretty to look at, but hell to drive through.

“The layout of the city’s streets was not designed for cars but for horses and carts and people on foot.”

A computer generated image of how Chatham Road and Napier Street in Ripon would look under the plans.

A computer generated image of how Chatham Road and Napier Street in Ripon would look under the plans

Ripon Independent councillor for Ure Bank, Sid Hawke, said there was a question mark over the traffic surveys undertaken by the developer. He said:

“Have you been up Clotherholme Road at peak times?  It’s absolute mayhem, you’re talking about putting 1,300 houses up there. Thats 2,000 cars on that road.”

David Rowlinson, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said highways and transport had been a “key issue” that Homes England and the MoD had worked through whilst developing the scheme. He said:

“We’re not new to this site, we’ve been working on it for five years. We’ve looked at this very thoroughly and worked with North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department to get their on-the-ground views.

“We feel we’ve robustly assessed the impacts and come up with the best solution possible for Ripon.

“North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed there is no defensible reason to refuse the application on highways and transport grounds.”

Military history

The barracks were originally built as a convalescent camp for troops during the First World War.

Thousands were housed there, including the wartime poet Wilfred Owen, who wrote some of his famous works there.

Jane Furse, on behalf of the Ripon Military Heritage Trust, asked councillors to defer the plans until a strategy had been produced that protected from demolition two training bridges and a hut, which has been called one of the best-surviving Second World War-era prefab structures.

However, the bridges and the hut are not protected under planning laws.

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Ms Furse gave a history of the military’s involvement at the site spanning two world wars and the Cold War.

She added:

“We request robust, enforceable conditions are imposed to protect our internationally significant heritage.”

Historic England raised “strong concerns” over the demolition of the hut but it has been decided that it can’t be retained because of asbestos, which HBC officer Andy Hough called “extremely regrettable”.

Homes England said it is committed to working with Ripon Military Heritage Group on studies to resolve what happens to the buildings.

Mr Rowlinson said:

“We give a commitment that until issues are resolved and a strategy is developed, structures will not be destroyed.

“We’re happy to do that, we need to work through the process with the group.”

‘Evidence-based decision’

The Conservative councillor for Ripon Spa and cabinet member for housing, Mike Chambers, who is also a former serviceman, said he supported “the majority” of the scheme but there are “clear issues” with the traffic assessment, so he would not be supporting the proposal.

Cllr Chambers claimed the changes to the Low Skellgate junction, banning right turns, “will only seek to exacerbate the situation”.

Conservative council leader Richard Cooper, who was on the planning committee today as a substitute, said rejecting the plans on transport grounds would risk a costly appeal.

In 2022, HBC had to pay £25,000 in costs after the authority was taken to appeal over its rejection of the Leon drive thru on Wetherby Road. Cllr Cooper said:

“You go and sit before an appeal and say to them ‘I drove down that road once and it was busy’, they’ll laugh at you.

“They did it with the Leon application, they laughed at us because there was no evidence to back up a refusal on traffic grounds and we lost the cost of the appeal because of that.”

Cllr Cooper added:

“If we aren’t a planning committee that bases our deliberations upon evidence, then we arent fit to be a planning committee at all. All our decisions should be evidence-based.”

The applicant has agreed to pay £4,694,875 to North Yorkshire County Council to go towards local primary and secondary schools.

It will also pay £907,267 to the NHS to support healthcare facilities.

Ukraine war could delay Ripon Barracks housing plans, says councillor

If the war in Ukraine escalates the Ministry of Defence (MoD) could delay vacating the Ripon Barracks site for housing to be built, according to the leader of Ripon City Council.

For several years, government housing agency Homes England and the MoD have been developing plans to build 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks, which has been used by the military since World War 1.

The scheme is called Clotherholme and also includes a new primary school, sports pitches, retail, food and drink units and a 60-bed care home.

The site consists of Deverell Barracks to the east, Claro Barracks to the west and Laver Banks to the south.

Deverell Barracks has already been vacated however Claro Barracks is still operational and in use by the Royal Engineers.

Previously, the MoD has said it would close the site in 2019 and 2023.

A computer generated image of how Chatham Road and Napier Street in Ripon would look under the plans.

A computer generated image of how Chatham Road and Napier Street in Ripon would look under the plans.

Earlier this month, Conservative MP Julian Smith published a letter he received from defence minister Alex Chalk that said Claro Barracks will remain in use until late 2026.

Although the letter said that phased work would begin at Deverell Barracks once planning permission has been granted.

‘A changing world’

At a meeting of Ripon City Council this week, council leader Andrew Williams, who is also an independent councillor on North Yorkshire County Council, said the 2026 date is “optimistic” due to a changing geopolitical situation.

Cllr Williams said:

“In a changing world since these proposals were first put on table, the world is clearly a more unstable place than when this process started several years ago. 

“There is a real risk of proper armed conflict escalating in Europe in a way that several years ago could have seen to be a farcical and ludicrous proposition.

“I suspect the MoD will need to retain part of its estate than it envisaged doing several years ago. As a consequence there may still be a need for a barracks in Ripon well beyond 2026.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:

“We remain committed to the disposal of Claro Barracks.

“With the adjacent Deverell Barracks now vacated, it is ready for the planned and phased redevelopment of the combined barracks site at Ripon.”

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Councillors will meet next Thursday afternoon in Harrogate to make a decision on whether the Ripon Barracks scheme goes ahead.

The plans have been recommended for approval by HBC case officer Andy Hough in a report.

The meeting will begin at 2pm on February 23 at the council’s Civic Centre. It will also be streamed live on its YouTube channel.

Government rejects bid to convert Kirkby Malzeard pub into house

The government has rejected plans to convert a Kirkby Malzeard pub into a home.

David Fielder, who owns the former Henry Jenkins pub, challenged a Harrogate Borough Council decision to refuse the plan back in May last year.

The authority said “insufficient marketing” had been carried out to demonstrate that “in the absence of any use as a public house there is no alternative community use for which the property may be suitable”.

Mr Fielder challenged the decision and appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

However, a government planning inspector has dismissed the appeal and ruled in favour of the council.

David Wyborn, who oversaw the appeal, said in a decision notice that he felt all options for the pub had not been “fully explored”.

He said:

“Overall, while there are some concerns with the details for the community pub project which I have highlighted above, I consider that the plans of the Henry Jenkins Community Pub to open a community pub have a reasonable prospect of succeeding and being viable.

“There can be no certainty on this matter at this stage and I understand the objections and criticisms from the appellant who has wide experience on these matters. Nevertheless, in particular, in the absence of an independent valuation to assist with an offer and potential purchase, and with the information, analysis and comments I have examined above, I do not consider that the policy requirements in criterion C of Policy HP8 of the Local Plan have been met.

“Specifically, it has not been clearly demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of the existing public house use continuing on a viable basis and all options for continuing that use have not been fully explored.”

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The move is the latest turn in the ongoing saga over the pub and efforts from local campaigners to bring it back into community use.

The Henry Jenkins, which is named after a man that legend states lived to be 169-years-old, is one of the oldest inns in the Harrogate district. It closed in 2011.

Richard Sadler, chair of the Henry Jenkins Community Pub group, said:

“We’re pleased that the inspector has taken the right decision and recognised that we are a genuine and credible community group- and that we should be given the chance to breathe new life into this much-loved local asset.

“We believe a revived Henry Jenkins could boost to our local economy, attract more visitors and transform the whole feel and atmosphere of the village.

“Harrogate council rightly has policies to protect facilities in rural areas and with our village expanding fast, the need for a wider range of services is greater than ever.”

Harrogate council pays out almost £20,000 in compensation to tenants due to damp

Over the last three years Harrogate Borough Council paid out £18,690 in compensation to tenants living in damp or mouldy council homes.

People who live in the council’s properties can request repairs for issues that arise due to mould or damp through its website or over the phone.

If the tenant is not satisfied with the repairs they can then complain to the Housing Ombudsman, which will look at what action was taken and potentially suggest compensation is paid to the resident.

Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service through a freedom of information request reveal Harrogate Borough Council paid out on seven compensation claims where damp or mould was a factor since the start of 2020.

The total amount for each year is below:

The issue has received national attention in recent months following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould at his Rochdale home.

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Awaab Ishak’s father repeatedly raised the issue with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) but no action was taken.

In November, housing secretary Michael Gove ordered councils and other social housing providers to step up action to tackle mould and damp in the wake of the death.

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said it was “wholly unacceptable” for any tenant to be “stuck in an unfit home with damp or mould”.

She added:

“Social housing is rented by lots of people who may be more vulnerable to poor housing conditions: older people, people with disabilities and long-term health problems and families with children. Reports of disrepair should be dealt with swiftly, so no-one’s health is harmed by their home.”

Harrogate Borough Council said it undertakes an annual maintenance programme in its properties and advises residents to report issues as soon as possible.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“There are a number of reasons why damp and mould can occur in a property. These include everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning and bathing that, if satisfactory ventilation is not available or not used as intended, can add moisture to the inside of properties, resulting in the development of damp and mould in colder areas.

“Other potential reasons include rising damp, defects to a property or faulty plumbing, for example.

“To prevent our properties from experiencing these issues we have an annual maintenance programme, advise residents to report any issues as soon as possible and also share guidance on how damp can sometimes be prevented.

“Unfortunately, in some occasions, it can occur and where it has caused significant issues for our tenants then they have been eligible to claim compensation.”

Decision on 1,300-home Ripon barracks scheme could be made this month

A decision on whether to build a major 1,300-home scheme on an army barracks in Ripon could be made within weeks.

The scheme, which has been submitted by government housing agency Homes England, would see houses built on Claro Barracks off Clotherholme Road.

The proposal was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in September 2020, but has yet to be decided.

Council officials have now said the scheme could come to the authority’s planning committee this month after negotiations over NHS contributions were nearing an end.

Trevor Watson, the council’s director of economy and culture, told an overview and scrutiny commission meeting on Monday that developer contributions for health was the “last big issue” to overcome.

He said:

“We are confident that we are now approaching the final negotiations in relation to what was the last big issue that has caused a few problems.

“That is the level of contributions towards health provision. We are nearing an agreement on that, I think.

“That will allow us to bring forward the application for determination by Harrogate Borough Council at a special planning committee, we hope on February 23 and we also hope with a recommendation of approval.”

Claro Barracks Ripon

Claro Barracks

Mr Watson added the scheme was a “once in a generation opportunity” to develop a brownfield site included in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished at the end of next month and succeeded by the new North Yorkshire Council.

The negotiations over developer contributions come after NHS managers in North Yorkshire objected to the scheme because of concerns about the amount of funding that would be provided for local healthcare.

In a letter to the council, Andrew Dangerfield, head of primary care transformation at NHS Humber & North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, said the method used by Homes England to assess healthcare need as a result of the new homes was “at odds” with the NHS.

He added the developer had offered “zero” section 106 contributions to help mitigate demand as a result of increased population due to the scheme.

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Mr Dangerfield said:

“The integrated care board is concerned about Homes England’s overall approach to health, they have sought to provide zero section 106 contributions towards the provision of healthcare infrastructure on a development of significant scale (circa 3,000 people), using a methodology which is at odds with the NHS commissioners and local healthcare partners.

“The integrated care board, who has direct expert knowledge of the local surgeries in the area and is responsible for the commissioning of healthcare services have consistently outlined that the existing practices do not have capacity to absorb the population created by the 1,300 homes coming forward as part of this application, and therefore have requested mitigation in the form of a section 106 contribution.”

Mr Dangerfield added that should no contributions towards healthcare be made, then the development “cannot be considered sustainable”.

In October 2020, NHS North Yorkshire CCG – which preceded the integrated care board – said in a letter to the borough council that it was seeking £553,128 from Homes England in contributions to health.

The planned homes in Ripon will include a significant number of two and three-bedroom mid-range houses and will include apartments in the centre.

It also includes a community centre, employment space, shops, parkland, a new primary school and sports facilities.

Two major Harrogate housing schemes set for go-ahead

Two major housing schemes in Harrogate look set to be approved.

Councillors on Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee have been recommended to back 162 new homes on Kingsley Drive and 53 houses on Knox Lane at a meeting next Tuesday (February 14).

Both applications have proved controversial with local residents.

Persimmon Homes lodged the proposal for Kingsley Drive in December after its original plan for 181 homes was met with 222 letters of objection. A prior application for 222 homes was refused.

In documents submitted to the council, Persimmon said it had reduced the size in response to comments from the authority and “other third parties”.

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Residents in the area have held long concerns about the amount of housebuilding in the area and its affect on traffic, noise, health and loss of green space.

In a report prepared in advance of next week’s meeting, council officers said the scheme would “make a valuable contribution to meeting the district’s housing need”.

Officers have recommended the scheme be deferred to the executive officer for development management and building control for approval.

The site is included in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

Case officer Kate Broadbank concludes:

“The detailed layout, access, landscaping, appearance and design of the proposal are acceptable and are considered compliant with the overarching policies of the development plan and national requirements.

“The proposed development will make a valuable contribution to meeting the district’s housing need. The proposal will have an acceptable impact upon the character and appearance of the area. The development constitutes sustainable development.”

Knox Lane

Councillors will also be recommended to approve plans for 53 homes on Knox Lane in Harrogate which have been submitted by developer Jomast.

The scheme has been met by opposition from residents, including campaigners Keep Knox Natural who took to Nidderdale Greenway, off Bilton Lane, dressed as woodland creatures to collect signatures for a petition last November.

Knox Lane

Site layout for the Knox Lane scheme.

Councillors deferred the application in October last year amid concern over contamination in the area.

At the time, Cllr Robert Windass, a Conservative who represents Boroughbridge, said much more work was needed on the proposals which he described as “wrong, wrong, wrong”. He said:

“I’ve heard nothing from the developers or our officers that would make me wish to support this application.

“Unless I feel the applicant has done a proper contamination assessment and got a full report when it comes back to this committee, I’m afraid I won’t be supportive.”

However, council officials have now said in a report prepared in advance of next week’s meeting the “applicant has provided additional information in respect of potential ground contamination”.

Councillors have been recommended to approve the proposal subject to conditions being agreed.

The report, compiled by case officer Andy Hough, says:

“The development of the site, which has been extensively amended and reduced since submission, will contribute towards the district’s housing need across the plan period.

“The site is located within a sustainable location for housing and has been designed in such a way that the layout takes into account the constraints of the site, whilst ensuring that it retains and builds upon the natural features of the site.

“The scheme provides a new pedestrian route through the site utilising the new green infrastructure to link directly into Knox Country Park, reducing the length of the Nidderdale Way, passing through the housing areas in Bilton.”

The Conservative-controlled planning committee will vote next week whether to accept the officers’ recommendations for the two housing schemes.

The meeting can be watched live at the council’s Civic Centre or on its YouTube channel.

Developer withdraws former Harrogate Orvis store flats plan

A developer has withdrawn plans to create six new flats above the former Orvis store in Harrogate.

The proposal lodged by York-based Balance Planning Solution Ltd on behalf of Andrew Farr would have seen the upper floors of the unit on West Park converted for housing.

Orvis closed its doors back in April 2022 after 25 years of trading in the town.

The plan would see part of the ground floor unit converted for access to the apartments, along with an entrance to the back of the building next to the Coach House flats on Robert Street.

However, the developer has since withdrawn the application.

It comes despite supportive comments from Harrogate Borough Council’s economic officers and Harrogate Civic Society.

Rebecca Micallef, economy and transport officer at the authority, said in a letter:

“Upper floor residential at this location will add to the vibrancy of the town, supporting both the daytime and evening economy.”

Meanwhile, Henry Pankhurst, of the civic society, said:

“The civic society has for many years – decades actually – supported the use or better use of unused or underused upper floors of town centre premises, especially residential use.”

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Homelessness ‘significantly increased’ amid cost of living crisis, says Harrogate council official

Housing officials at Harrogate Borough Council say the number of people presenting as homeless has “significantly increased” amid the covid pandemic and cost of living crisis.

Maggie Gibson, housing needs manager at the authority, told a council overview and scrutiny commission that officers had seen a large amount of people who were in a “higher level of financial difficulty”.

It comes as the housing department has forecast an overspend of £170,000 due to an increase use of bed and breakfast accommodation amid a lack of temporary homes.

Ms Gibson said the council had started to see more people citing financial difficulties as their primary reason for approaching the service.

She said:

“As a backlash of the pandemic, what we are seeing is people who are in a higher level of financial difficulty.

“So whereas we may have experienced problems with affordability, we have a larger amount of people coming forward with that being their primary issue as to why they are approaching our service.

“What we also have is parents who have older children who are now living in their households, they have been struck by the additional costs associated with gas and electric. They want a contribution and maybe those older children don’t want to contribute.

“Therefore, we have those people now approaching our service.”

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The comments come as the Stray Ferret revealed last month that the council had spent £25,000 a month on temporary hotels and bed and breakfasts for homeless people.

The council, which has a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, is paying individual hotels up to £126 a night because its hostels are full.

Ms Gibson said housing officers were now seeing a “different picture” of homelessness due to the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

She said:

“I think it’s a very different picture that we are looking at. Whereas we might have been looking at affordability on it’s own, we have now got affordability coupled with health issues – both mental and physical – which have an impact on where the person is next accommodated.

“If our temporary accommodation is not available and we are using bed and breakfast accommodation – and that will be in extreme situations – it may well be that we are waiting then with a person in bed and breakfast until a vacancy becomes available again in the hostel.”