Housing Archives - Page 22 of 47

New Harrogate district housing plan should not be ‘tickbox exercise’, says councillor

A new plan for housing across the Harrogate district should not be treated as “a tickbox exercise”, says a local councillor.

Senior councillors are set to back drawing up a new county-wide Local Plan ahead of the creation of North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

The blueprint would look ahead for a minimum of 15 years, and at least 30 years in relation to any larger scale developments, such as new settlements or significant urban extensions. It would encompass all areas of the county outside the national parks.

Cllr Arnold Warneken, a Green Party councillor on North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret that the document had to look at the “bigger picture”.

He said the county council was in a position to be able to use the plan as a means of promoting sustainable homes, solar panels and affordable housing which is energy efficient.

Cllr Warneken said:

“We are not ticking boxes with this.

“We have to think of this as a bigger picture. It’s not just a case of putting this plan in place, it needs to be at the forefront of it all.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the North Yorkshire Independent group on the county council, said the plan should also include a ban on fracking.

He added that the blueprint needs to take into account rural areas and health inequalities.

North Yorkshire County Council will be recommended to approve creating a new county-wide strategy at a meeting of its executive on December 13.

Cllr Matt Walker, Liberal Democrat councillor for Knaresborough West, said the move to create one plan was “common sense”.

He said:

“It is just common sense that we would think again about how and where we develop now we are part of the new North Yorkshire authority.

“Harrogate and Knaresborough has seen a huge amount of building in recent years. It has put too much strain on our roads and health services. We do need good affordable local housing, but we have to have the infrastructure to go with it. Now we are one authority, we need one local plan that addresses these issues.”

Harrogate Town Council should oversee planning

Chris Watt, vice-chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour party, said a Harrogate Town Council should be set up to oversee such planning matters.

He said:

“We need more genuinely affordable and sustainable homes, with proper provision of social housing and decent infrastructure.

“With more empty business premises due to the Tories crashing the economy, we should also be looking to see if any of those can be turned into affordable accommodation for people struggling with the cost of living crisis.

“We are concerned that without a new Harrogate Town Council in charge of these matters, decisions taken by the new North Yorkshire Council in Northallerton will ignore the needs of Harrogate and Knaresborough.”

ConservatIve Cllr Simon Myers, executive member for housing and growth on the council, said the plan would help towards the council’s “ambitious targets” on climate change.

He said:

“The plan will be vital to the new North Yorkshire Council’s ambitions to deliver sustainable economic growth, through good homes and jobs, as well as the best facilities and infrastructure for everyone who lives or works in the county.

“Planning guidance will also play a key role in meeting our ambitious targets to tackle climate change. In addition, it can support other services in meeting the needs of our many communities at a local level, taking into account everything from transport and education to housing, health and social care.”

Harrogate district Local Plan set to be scrapped

Harrogate Borough Council currently has its own Local Plan which outlines where development can take place across the district until 2035.

It is due to be reviewed by 2025 but this looks set to be scrapped because of the creation of a new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council and the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council on April 1.

However, a report to councillors who will decide whether to accept the recommendation says a review of the proposed Maltkiln development, which could see up to 4,000 homes built near Cattal, will continue as planned.

New housing plan to be created for Harrogate district

A new Local Plan guiding where land can be used for housing and employment for decades to come is to be drawn up for North Yorkshire.

Harrogate Borough Council currently has its own Local Plan which outlines where development can take place across the district until 2035.

North Yorkshire County Council will be recommended to approve creating a new county-wide strategy at a meeting of its executive next week.

The new Local Plan would look ahead for a minimum of 15 years, and at least 30 years in relation to any larger scale developments, such as new settlements or significant urban extensions. It would encompass all areas of the county outside the national parks.

Cllr Carl Les, the Conservative leader of the authority, said:

“A robust Local Plan that sets out an ambitious vision and a clear framework for growth will ensure that we keep control of how and where development takes place.

“By ensuring a local focus, we can protect and enhance the quality of the places in which we live, creating sustainable economic growth and prosperous communities while safeguarding the natural and heritage assets that are such an important aspect of our county.”

Cllr Simon Myers, executive councillor for growth and housing, said

“The plan will be vital to the new North Yorkshire Council’s ambitions to deliver sustainable economic growth, through good homes and jobs, as well as the best facilities and infrastructure for everyone who lives or works in the county.

“Planning guidance will also play a key role in meeting our ambitious targets to tackle climate change. In addition, it can support other services in meeting the needs of our many communities at a local level, taking into account everything from transport and education to housing, health and social care.”

Developer plans 24 homes in Summerbridge

Developers have lodged plans to build 24 homes in Summerbridge.

Nidderdale Estates Ltd submitted the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council to build the scheme on land at Braisty Wood off the B165.

It would see a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes built at the site, which is allocated for housing under the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-2035.

The developer said in documents submitted to the council:

“A high quality development is proposed that will sit comfortably within the village and the AONB setting.

“The design and detail will build upon the qualities found within the local vernacular, creating a development with a sense of identity.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Plan to create six flats above former Harrogate Orvis store

Plans have been lodged 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 Farrar would see the upper floors of the unit on West Park converted for housing.

Orvis closed its doors back in April 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.

It would see a mixture of one bedroom and two bedroom apartments created.

The developer said in documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council that the plan would not include any extension of the building.

It said:

“It is considered that the proposed scheme responds to the constraints of the site, planning policy constraints and its heritage context and should fall within the parameters of acceptable development.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Plan to convert Glasshouses pub into holiday cottage rejected

A plan to convert a former Glasshouses pub into a holiday cottage has been refused.

The Birch Tree, at Lupton Bank, closed its doors back in March 2020 due to the covid pandemic.

In plans lodged to Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate Architectural Ltd said the site had been marketed extensively without success.

The fresh proposal would have seen the empty public house converted into a two-bedroom holiday cottage.

However, the borough council rejected the plan on the grounds that the loss of the pub was “not justified”.

In a decision notice, the authority said:

“The proposal would result in the loss of the community facility and this loss is not justified, therefore the development is in conflict with policy HP8 and part F of policy EC7 of the Local Plan.

“It has not been demonstrated that reasonable attempts have been made to actively market the land and premises in line with the requirements of policy HP8.”

The site has already seen three cottages built under a previous planning permission, with the pub reduced in size.

In planning documents for the fresh proposal, the developer said the building had been put on the market without success.

It said:

“These premises have now remained empty since March 2020 when the previous tenant walked away due to the pandemic.

“Since that time two agents have marketed the property including a specialist in selling public houses, for a period of seven months.

“Since that time the applicant has continued his own marketing, all without success.”

Developers appeal Lamb and Flag housing plan refusal

Developers have appealed a council decision to refuse plans to build five houses at the Lamb and Flag pub in Bishop Monkton.

The proposal was tabled by Carol and Trevor Pawson for the 200-year-old pub, which also had a bed and breakfast.

Harrogate Borough Council rejected plans for the pub back in May.

Now, the developers have taken the refusal to the government’s Planning Inpsectorate, which deals with planning disputes.

As part of the plan, two houses would be created by converting the pub itself and another would be created at the barn next door.

A further two homes would be built at the car park at the back of the pub.

However, council officials have refused the application on the grounds that “insufficient marketing” has been done to demonstrate that the pub could not be used for community use.

Officers added in a decision notice that two of the houses on the car park are outside the development limits.

In documents submitted to the government, the developers argued that the site was not viable for any community use.

It said:

“An independent report has confirmed there is no scope for the Appeal property to be viably run as a public house.

“The issues highlighted in that report would equally, and perhaps more so, apply to any alternative community use.

“The only realistic potential purchasers for an alternative community use project would be the parish council and Harrogate Borough Council. The property has been marketed since 2017 and at no time has either body expressed any interest in it.”

A government planning inspector will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Controversial 21-house scheme in Markington to be discussed tonight

Controversial plans to build 21 homes in Markington will be discussed by the village’s parish council tonight.

Leeds firm KCS Developments Ltd has applied to build a combination of two- to four-bedroom houses with gardens and car parking spaces at High Mill Farm on High Street. Eight of the 21 homes would be classed as affordable.

Markington, which is situated between Harrogate and Ripon, has a population of just over 600 people.

Some residents have expressed concerns on social media about the impact of the development on the landscape and infrastructure in the historic settlement.

The proposed site

But a design and access statement submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by Ilkley architects Halliday Clark on behalf of the applicant, says there is an “identified need” for new housing in Markington. It says:

“The proposal sits centrally in Markington and is in walking distance of all the village amenities such as the primary school, shops and community spaces.

“Developing in a small village such as Markington will protect the continuation of these vital services, allowing the village to stay sustainable. There is an identified need within Markington to provide affordable family housing to enable young families and people to stay living in the village.”

The statement adds the development would be “concealed and therefore will have no visual impact on Markington’s high street”.

Markington with Wallerthwaite Parish Council will discuss the development at tonight’s monthly meeting, which is open at everyone, at 7.30pm at the Yorkshire Hussar Inn in the village.

Concern over lack of secondary school at new Harrogate district town

Concerns have been raised about the absence of a secondary school in plans for a new Harrogate district town of up to 4,000 homes.

The proposed town, called Maltkiln, will be built in the Hammerton and Cattal area and will include a GP surgery, shops and two primary schools — but not a secondary school.

According to a North Yorkshire County Council report, the scheme proposes to expand Boroughbridge High School, which has about 600 students, to meet demand for secondary school pupils.

Land in Maltkiln has also been “safeguarded” for a high school, but this would only be built in future should it be required.

Green Party councillor Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn, told a Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee meeting today that plans to expand Boroughbridge High School to meet demand would generate its own problems.

He added that local residents were surprised the development did not have its own secondary school given that thousands of homes are expected to be built.

Cllr Warneken said:

“This is a massive impact on this community and everything needs to be in place that is going to address that impact.

“The pupils are not just going to come from the Maltkiln development, they are going to come from places like Whixley, Green Hammerton and Tockwith as well. All of those have experienced big developments as well.

“I am concerned that we are asking, as a result of Maltkiln, for a school to be further developed in Boroughbridge when I believe that Boroughbridge has its own set of problems in terms of levels of development and the number of pupils that will generate.”

Boroughbridge High School.

Officials at the county council said in a report that it was “not expected” that the size of the development would “generate sufficient pupils” to require a new secondary school.

Sue Turley, strategic planning officer in the county council’s children’s and young people service, said the council had forecast that Boroughbridge High School would be able to meet the demand for secondary school pupils from the new town.

She said:

“In terms of the secondary provision, it is expected that Boroughbridge High School would be expanded because there is sufficient space at the school and to grow the school, which is part of a federation with King James School.

“However, it is important to realise that there is safeguarded land within Maltkiln for secondary provision as indicated should this be required in the future. There is that provision there and I think that everybody wanted to see that there was that provision in that development plan for the site, which is now being consulted on.”

Cllr Pat Marsh, chair of the area committee, raised concern that the move did not meet the sustainable aims of the development.

She said:

“Why are we saying this is a sustainable community and yet expecting children to travel at 11 to Boroughbridge?

“Then this joining with King James becomes problematic because Knaresborough itself has got over 1,000 new houses and where is the secondary school there? It’s King James.

“So there is going to be a major issue with secondary schools.”

Extension of consultation

Harrogate Borough Council has agreed to extend a consultation into Maltkiln until November 25.

Council officials launched a six-week consultation on October 3 into its draft new settlement development plan document, which sets out a 30-year vision and policy framework on how the town is designed and developed.

However, Cllr Warneken, who represents Ouseburn on North Yorkshire County Council, called for an extension amid concern that the planning process was being rushed ahead of the new North Yorkshire Council coming into being.

He issued the plea after it emerged the consultation documents had been changed midway through — without people being told — and raised the prospect of a judicial review.

You can take part in the consultation over the new town here.

Controversial plan for 35 homes in Crimple Valley rejected

A controversial plan to build 35 homes in Harrogate’s Crimple Valley has been refused.

The application by Square Feet Ltd and Antela Developments Ltd would have seen homes built at Almsford Bank Stables on Leeds Road.

It included plans for 14 affordable homes, seven first homes and 14 self or custom build plots.

The proposal was objected to by residents, who described it as “ludicrous” and unsafe.

A total of 247 letters of objection were submitted to Harrogate Borough Council against the scheme.

The council rejected the development on the grounds that the site was not allocated for housing under the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place, and “would result in harm to the character and appearance of its surroundings”.

It said in its reasons for refusal:

“The proposed development would result in harm to the character and appearance of its surroundings, including the Crimple Valley Special Landscape Area, through the loss of open fields and woodland and the introduction of unacceptable and incongruous (sub)urban development into an area of high landscape value, important to the setting of Harrogate and the grade II* listed Crimple Valley viaduct.”

The application was the third for the site since 2018, when plans for 65 homes were put forward but withdrawn.

The following year, a reduced proposal of 35 homes was submitted, but again withdrawn in the face of extensive objections.

Campaign group Save Crimple Valley urged the public to submit objections to the new proposal.

Among them was Judith Hooper, who told the council that the site was unsafe for such a housing scheme.

She said:

“In the time we have been resident in Harrogate there have been numerous car accidents on Almsford bank, the most recent very serious one being only a few weeks ago.

“Cars accelerate down the bank on reaching the 50mph sign and already have to contend with traffic coming out of Crimple Hall.

“Putting access at the bottom of such a busy section of road, on a bend, seems to invite accidents. At night there are many cars clearly speeding on this stretch. At busy periods traffic is queuing both up and down the hill.”

Council could sell garage sites in Ripon and Knaresborough for housing

Affordable housing will be on the agenda at a Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) meeting next week, as two sites in Ripon and Knaresborough are recommended for redevelopment.

The sites, both rows of lock-up garages, are currently owned by HBC, but a report due to be discussed next Tuesday said they are underused.

According to the report by the cabinet member for housing and safer communities, they could provide much-needed revenue for the council as well as helping to address the shortage of low-cost accommodation in the district.

The council is recommending that one of the sites, at Park Row in Knaresborough, is sold to Newcastle-based developer Karbon at market value to provide two affordable homes in partnership with Knaresborough Community Land Trust (KCLT). Currently consisting of seven brick-built garages, six of them empty, it has planning permission for two one-bed bungalows.

The report says the disposal of the Knaresborough site “will deliver two affordable homes at nil cost to the council and in the short to medium term”.

HBC is recommending that the Ripon site, a row of brick-built garages between North Road and Bridge View Road, be offered for sale at market value for residential development.

There is existing planning permission for conversion of the garages to create a three-bed bungalow, but this cannot be implemented as the existing foundations have been deemed unsuitable for the change of use. The underlying geology is high in gypsum, a highly soluble rock prone to forming sinkholes, and ground investigation works will be needed to ensure the site can support a brand-new building.

The garages on North Road in Ripon

The council intends to prioritise the sale of the North Road site to one of its registered providers, but if none shows any interest, it may sell the site for self-build.

Two alternative options for both sites – developing the homes in-house or retaining the properties in their existing form as under-used garage sites – will be recommended for rejection at the housing meeting.

The report said “disposal of both sites is considered the best way to meet the council’s wider objectives for housing provision” and noted “it is important that sales be progressed swiftly before the market slows”.

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Extension of consultation

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