Housing Archives - Page 25 of 47

Business breakfast: Ripon firm invests £250,000 in robot laser welder

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

Econ Engineering has invested £250,000 in a new robot laser MIG welder for its Ripon manufacturing base.

The company, which makes more than eight out of 10 winter maintenance vehicles on UK roads, is using the innovative machine to turn out cut and welded ‘din plates’ — the mounting used to attach plough blades to the front of gritters.

Creating din plates is a labour-intensive process and by automating this method, Econ says its team of welders can now concentrate on more intricate but less time-consuming jobs.

Econ Engineering managing director Jonathan Lupton said:

“Our new robot, which has already become a valued addition to the welding section, is now undertaking the more mundane but time-consuming jobs, which is allowing the welders to perform more interesting tasks.

“It is a superb piece of kit, and watching it work is just incredible. Several of our staff are currently being trained in how to programme and operate it, and in time it will be able to perform different welding tasks.”

Estate agent Tim Waring joins GSC Grays

GSC Grays in Boroughbridge has welcomed housing expert Tim Waring to its team.

Mr Waring is a chartered surveyor and RICS registered valuer who has 30 years of experience working in the Yorkshire property market.

He will be based at the recently opened GSC Grays office in Boroughbridge and said he is relishing the challenge of a new role.

“I am delighted to be joining GSC Grays at an exciting time for the company as they continue to expand and grow and I am looking forward to being part of their journey.

“There is always going be, in a tough economic climate, a flight to quality and the prime residential property market in Yorkshire will continue to thrive. It remains a fact that quality always sells.”

Guy Coggrave, managing director at GSC Grays, added:

“We are thrilled to be adding Tim’s extensive skills and unrivalled experience to our new office at Boroughbridge. At GSC Grays, our mission is to bring extraordinary people together to deliver an outstanding service and the quality of our staff is the key to our success.”

Harrogate council says it can’t take action on complaints of ‘poisonous’ construction dust in Kingsley area

Fed-up residents living in one of Harrogate’s busiest areas for new housing have called a ban on open-top construction lorries – but the council says it has no powers to take action.

After years of disruptions from the building of 700 new homes, Kingsley residents last night called on Harrogate Borough Council to only allow sealed wagons in and out of the area, which has rapidly expanded in size and will continue to do so for years to come.

John Hansard, a member of Kingsley Ward Action Group, told a full council meeting that the authority had an obligation to protect residents from harm and that this has “fallen very far short of acceptable levels”.

He said:

“We are simply requesting that we are no longer poisoned by harmful and dangerous construction waste.”

However, Cllr Tim Myatt, cabinet member for planning at the council, said the authority did not have evidence that the dust was toxic and that a ban on open-top lorries could not be enforced.

He said:

“It is a highly unusual practice to require sealed containers to transport items to and from development sites.

“This can not be retrospectively imposed as a planning condition and neither residents or members of the planning committee asked for this to be conditioned at the time of the application.

“Further, the local highways authority has informed the borough council that they would not be able to mandate the use of sealed containers.

“They believe the use of such can only be required for certain processes such as the removal of radioactive material and asbestos.”

Cllr Myatt also said housing developers had repeated their offer to clean roads and pavements in the area, but this was “vociferously opposed” by residents.

Construction work in Kingsley began in 2019 and residents have long complained that not enough has been done to minimise disruptions to their daily lives.

There have also been complaints that improvements to roads, public transport, health services and community facilities have not kept up with the level of new housing in the area.

Around 700 new homes are already built or under construction, with hundreds more in the pipeline.

Mr Hansard told yesterday’s meeting that without action from the council, residents would continue to be left to “suffer the consequences”.

He said:

“These wagons have continually polluted Kingsley Road over a three year period, causing potential long-term serious illness for residents.

“We reluctantly understand that the road has to be used for access to the construction sites, but this must not be at the risk to the health of residents.”

Action to tackle Yorkshire Dales second homes receives ‘overwhelming support’

Further action to tackle rising amounts of second homes and holiday lets in the Yorkshire Dales National Park looks set to become part of a plan which will shape the area until 2040.

A meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority today will consider responses to a consultation on its Local Plan, which features policies designed to increase housing for local residents.

The proposed policies come ahead of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive considering introducing a 100% council tax premium on second and empty homes in the Dales.

The North Yorkshire Rural Commission concluded last year that the shortage of affordable housing was among the greatest challenges to resolve.

An officer’s report to the park authority meeting states the consultation has confirmed “overwhelming support” for all new housing to be for permanent residents.

However, officers have highlighted some respondents had dubbed the measure too weak and had stated all new housing should be targeted at local need only, as permanent occupancy would still mean younger residents faced competition from retirees.

While community leaders say it is only fair people retiring from working a lifetime in the Dales, such as farmers, should be able to continue living in the area, concerns have also been raised that about 30% of national park residents are aged over 65, about double the national average.

The consultation has also found support for the authority attempting to get housing built on specific sites it has identified, as finding suitable land for housing in the national park has proved to be a major hurdle in developing affordable housing.

Views were split over whether requiring developers to provide up to 50% affordable housing on sites in certain areas of the park is achievable.

Ahead of the meeting, Upper Dales councillor and park authority member Yvonne Peacock said the current policy of restricting new housing to those with local connections often prevented “desperately needed new blood from coming in and working here”.

She said fostering the economic wellbeing of local communities was made a higher priority by the authority.

Cllr Peacock said:

“Having a policy restricting new homes to people who permanently live in them is a better policy as many of the barns that have been converted have ended up as holiday cottages.”

National park officers said the next stage of the Local Plan would see a consultation on the possible housing sites. The target is to provide sufficient land for 850 new homes between 2023 and 2040.

Officers are currently assessing and mapping potential sites and updating housing development boundaries around 100 settlements.

A list of potential sites and maps will be issued for public comment in the next few months.

Delayed decision on Knox Lane housing plans set for October

Councillors will now decide whether to approve plans to build 52 homes at Knox Lane on October 4.

The original date of September 13 was delayed following the Queen’s death.

Harrogate Borough Council postponed all council meetings that were due to take place this week as a mark of respect.

North East property developer Jomast wants to build the homes on a field off Knox Lane in what has been a controversial and long-running planning application.

Council officer Andy Hough has published a 30-page report for councillors that says the development should be given the green light once certain conditions are met and there being no objection from the local flood authority.

In his conclusion Mr Hough said:

“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 plans have faced fierce objections from local residents in Bilton.

To many living there, the fields on Knox Lane represent one of the last green spaces in the area.

At the time of publication, there have been 311 objections to the plans from residents and zero submissions of support.

Government rejects Harrogate working men’s club flats plan

The government has rejected plans to convert a former Harrogate working men’s club into flats.

The National Reserve Club, on East Parade, formally closed in July 2021 following a unanimous resolution by members. It was also known as ‘The Nash’.

The organisation had been registered as a working men’s club since July 11, 1913, when it was known as the Harrogate Battalion National Reserve of the West Riding of York Club.

ID Planning, which submitted a plan to convert the club into flats on behalf of Ashleigh and Caroline Wells, took Harrogate Borough Council to appeal after it refused its conversion plan in May this year.

The council said there was insufficient evidence that the building could no longer be used as a community facility.

But the developer said in a statement to the government that the reasons for rejection were “unfounded”.

It said:

“Based on the assessment provided, it is considered that the reasons for refusal of the planning application given by Harrogate Borough Council are unfounded and the proposed development accords with all relevant local and national planning policy.”

Robert Walker, a government planning inspector, said in a decision notice that he could not conclude that continued use of the site as a community facility would cause “planning problems”.

He said:

“I recognise that there are residential properties nearby, including flats in the appeal building.

“However, the appeal site is located close to the town centre in a mixed area on a busy street. It is not in a quiet residential area.

“Such a location and relationship to upper floor flats or other nearby residential properties is not unusual.

“Moreover, the former working men’s club operated on the site for a considerable number of years and no substantive evidence has been provided of problems from its past use.”

Mr Walker added that there had not been “sufficient evidence provided to justify the permanent loss of the existing community facility”.

Plans to convert former Slug & Lettuce in Harrogate

Plans have been submitted to convert the Herald Buildings in Harrogate, which was most recently home to the Slug & Lettuce pub, into four retail units and apartments.

Built in the 1850s, the buildings were also the headquarters of the Harrogate Advertiser newspaper for much of the last century until it moved out in 1990.

The Slug & Lettuce chain then occupied part of the buildings for nearly 30 years before closing in May last year.

Plans were submitted last week by Leeds-based developer Rushbond PLC to give it a new lease of life.

It hopes to subdivide the downstairs pub into four retail units and convert the upstairs area into five apartments.

It’s in the Montpellier Quarter which is a popular area for boutique shops.

The plans have been designed by Harrogate-based SPX Architects. Documents say the development would “enhance the area’s reputation” as a destination for independent boutique-style shops.

It says:

“The proposals generate a sustainable, long-term use for the upper floors of this locally designated heritage asset and simultaneously improve its energy efficiency and visual contribution to the area.

“Moreover, the replacement of a large public house and its associated outdoor eating and drinking areas with a scheme providing a complementary mix of small high-quality ground floor retail units to those found on Montpellier Mews, Montpellier Parade and Montpellier Street only serves to enhance the areas reputation as a destination for independent boutique style shops.”

HBC will decide on the plans at a later date.

Harrogate Working Men’s Club set for major refurbishment and new name

High Harrogate Working Men’s Club on Devonshire Place is set to get a major refurbishment as well as a new name.

The WMC has been a part of the High Harrogate community since 1889 and it recently secured a loan from Co-operative & Community Finance to help secure its future.

The refurbishment will involve converting and extending the first and second floors to form six apartments.

The ground floor, first floor and the building’s exterior will be fully renovated.

The newly named High Harrogate Bar and Lounge will be able to space for judo, pilates and meditation classes as well as other indoor sports.

A modernised function room will also be available for events, parties and live music to help bring in extra revenue for the club.

A new website is also being created to help broaden the club’s appeal.

Plans for the renovation have been popular with locals. At the club’s last AGM around 80 members attended and unanimously expressed their support for the proposals.

Kevin Lloyd-Evans, lending and relationship manager at Co-operative & Community Finance said:

“We are delighted to be lending again to a Working Men’s Club. Being able to respond to access to finance challenges is paramount to our work. We support membership organisations which are democratically controlled and collectively owned. This is a brilliant start as we now look to support other Working Men’s Clubs across the country.”

Bilton garages set to be demolished for housing

Harrogate Borough Council‘s plan to demolish 10 garages at Woodfield Close in Bilton and build two social homes has been recommended for approval.

The council owns and rents out garages across the district and has increasingly looked at the pockets of land as a way to build social housing.

Harrogate is one of the most unaffordable places to live in England, with average house prices around 11 times the median annual income of people who work in the district.

There are currently 1,867 households on the social housing waiting list.

In planning documents, the council said the development would help to provide “much needed affordable homes”.

The council earmarked the site for housing in August 2021. In total, it has 26 garages.

In November last year, the council was awarded £50,000 of government cash to bring forward housing on the garage site at Woodfield as well as at Park Row in Knaresborough.

The council’s planning committee will meet on Tuesday to decide whether or not to approve the Woodfield proposal.

The report to councillors says:

“The provision of two affordable dwellings is a modest addition to the district’s housing land supply.

“The design of the dwellings would respect local distinctiveness and there would be no significant harm to local residential amenity, or highway safety.

“The housing development would provide off-street parking and be a more efficient use of the site.

“The proposal would comply with the provisions of the development plan and national planning policies and guidance, and should be supported.”

Controversial Knox Lane housing plans recommended for approval

A Harrogate Borough Council officer has recommended that councillors next week approve plans to build 53 homes in Bilton.

North East property developer Jomast wants to build the homes on a field off Knox Lane in what has been a controversial and long-running planning application.

The council’s planning committee will decide next Tuesday whether the scheme can go ahead.

The majority of the site is allocated for development in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which says where homes can be built.

However, the development will also include land outside of the local plan area for trees and open space.

Obstacles

The developer has faced a number of obstacles getting to this stage.

Its initial plans were for 73 homes but the number was reduced following concerns about over-development.

NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said GP practices in Harrogate are already over-saturated and have “very limited capacity” to accept another 123 patients that the new homes could bring.

Jomast has agreed to pay £63,974, which will be spent by GP practices.

This year, North Yorkshire County Council, who is in charge of roads in the district, said the layout of the development was ‘not acceptable’. The developer has since agreed to pay to widen Knox Lane in a move that has satisfied the county council.

‘Sustainable location’

Residents in the area have also long said the site is unsuitable due to the overhead electricity pylons that run through the fields and because of its impact on wildlife and a historic part of Harrogate.

Jomast has said it will not build homes directly beneath the pylons. Mr Hough, from Harrogate Borough Council, said the developer has “positively utilised” the pylons to create a “strong green infrastructure” and a “significant area” of public open space.

The National Grid has backed the development.

In his conclusion Mr Hough said:

“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.”

‘We will be saddened’

The proposed site off Knox Lane.

At the time of publication, there have been 311 objections to the plans from residents and zero submissions of support.

To many living in that corner of Bilton, the fields on Knox Lane represent one of the last green spaces in the area.

They believe the houses would destroy an idyllic scene that is home to wildlife and is a gateway to Spruisty Bridge and Oak Beck.

Sue Wrightson, who lives in the area, gave the following reasons why she and other residents believe councillors should refuse the plans next week.

She said:

“The proposal will have a major adverse visual impact and cause harm to the landscape and character of Knox Lane.

“We have had a total lack of communication from Jomast’s representatives and HBC when information has been sort.

“Wildlife and birds will be totally displaced. Pylons and contamination serious issues have been raised and not addressed.

“It is a beautiful area and enjoyed by many it should be left as is for wildlife and birds, a small little hamlet down Knox lane to the pack horse bridge will be ruined.

“We will be saddened if this is approved for everyone that enjoys it.”

The Stray Ferret asked Jomast to comment but we did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Jomast and planning consultants Spawforths previously issued the following joint statement to the Stray Ferret:

“Jomast recognises the concerns of the local residents in respect to the potential impacts of the proposed housing development. However they would like to stress that the application site is allocated for housing within Harrogate’s Local Plan.

“Therefore, it has already been deemed as suitable for residential development by Harrogate council. The planning application is providing a significant amount of affordable housing, above what is required by planning policy, which will help address the significant shortfall of this type of housing within the town.

“The planning application is supported by a number of specialist technical reports, including a transport assessment, which demonstrates the proposed development would not lead to any additional congestion of the local roads.

“Jomast has also commissioned a series of ecological reports, which show that the proposed development would deliver a net benefit to biodiversity and the environment through the creation of new wildlife habitats and significant tree and hedgerow planting.

“Two public exhibitions have been carried out in respect to the development of the Site. In addition, Harrogate council consulted local residents on the allocation of the site for housing during the preparation of their Local Plan.”

Closure notice published for Harrogate school

North Yorkshire County Council has published a closure notice for Woodfield Community Primary School that proposes to shut the school for good on December 31.

The document, which is available to read here, said governors have “exhausted all options” to keep the school in Bilton open.

It gives reasons that led to the decision, which it says began when the school was rated inadequate by Ofsted in 2020 and placed into special measures.

The rating meant the school had to become a sponsored academy, but it failed to find a backer.

A proposed merger with Grove Road Community Primary School fell through this year.

The notice says there were 36 pupils enrolled at the school as of July 4, as well as 9 children in its nursery.

Just four applicants put Woodfield as their preferred school for reception entry in September.

The notice also proposes that should the school close, the catchment areas of Bilton Grange Primary School and Grove Road Community Primary School would be expanded to include the current Woodfield school catchment area or parts of it.

A consultation will run until October 6 on the closure. Comments can be made to schoolorganisation@northyorks.gov.uk

Read more:

Estate agent Tim Waring joins GSC Grays

Read more:

Read More:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Obstacles

‘Sustainable location’

Read more:

‘We will be saddened’

Read more: