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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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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

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Pateley Bridge butcher hopes to make former police station new home

The owners of Kendall’s Farm Butchers in Pateley Bridge have bought the town’s former police station and hope to turn it into their new home, according to planning documents.

Former North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan announced last year that the station on King Street would be sold as part of cost-cutting measures.

Officers based at the site were moved across the road where they share space with Harrogate Borough Council.

In July, the commissioner’s office confirmed that the police station was sold for £297,000. It had initially been estimated to sell for £142,000.

A planning application has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by Paul Kendall, a third generation butcher, to convert the former police station and adjoining property he bought at auction into one family home.

Better work life balance

According to planning documents by Harrogate architect James Robinson, the Kendalls currently live around five miles outside of Pateley Bridge, which means in the winter it can be a challenge to get to the town if it has been snowing.

The documents reveal they had been looking to relocate closer to the business for many years but were unable to find anywhere suitable.

Mr Robinson wrote that living within 200 metres of the main shop in Pateley will be “revolutionary” for the family, as it will allow for a much better work-life balance.

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Council faces calls to hold in-person Maltkiln consultation events

Harrogate Borough Council has been criticised because it plans to promote its latest Maltkin consultation through social media and video, rather than at in-person events in Green Hammerton, Kirk Hammerton and Cattal.

A draft development plan document (DPD) has been drawn up by officers at HBC that includes a vision for how the 3,000-home settlement called Maltkiln will eventually look. The developer Oakgate Group would build the homes.

It is the biggest housing scheme in HBC’s Local Plan, which sets out where development can take place until 2034, and it is likely to change the face of the three small villages off the A59.

No exhibitions

The draft DPD is set to go before councillors at a meeting on September 21.

If approved, a six-week public consultation on the document will take place, beginning on October 6.

However, an email from a senior planning manager to councillors and stakeholders, seen by the Stray Ferret, says the consultation will only be promoted through social media, posters and an ‘explanatory video’ that sets out what the DPD is.

The email says:

“Please note that we are not holding a public exhibition as we feel that the explanatory video will have a broader reach and be more appropriate given the nature of the content of the DPD.

“During more detailed master planning, when visual options are being presented and design codes discussed, then public exhibitions may be more appropriate.”

Cllr Alex Smith, of Kirk Hammerton Parish Council, said he felt this was unsatisfactory, particularly for residents who struggle to navigate the council’s website.

He said:

“By deciding not to exhibit in the affected villages, HBC are excluding those residents who are unable to navigate the depths of the consultation site, something which is challenging, even for experienced users.

“Council leader Richard Cooper went out of his way to promise residents that the consultation would be genuine and inclusive, but this feels like neither.”

The layout for Maltkiln, which is centred around Cattal Station

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Cllr Smith compared the proposals to develop Maltkiln with Harrogate’s Station Gateway, which has seen several rounds of in-person public consultations organised by North Yorkshire County Council. He added:

“You only have to compare what’s happening with the Station Gateway, which, even on its third consultation, is getting three days of public exhibitions. 

“For the ‘New Settlement’ – a much more significant development – the council have managed to switch preferred options, chosen the site, and even named it, without so much as setting foot in one of the local village halls.

“Some consultations are more genuine and inclusive than others, it would seem.”

In response, a HBC spokesperson said:

“This is the latest consultation regarding the new settlement in the Hammerton/Cattal area of Harrogate district, known as Maltkiln. And follows a number of earlier stages of consultation and engagement that have helped shape the Development Plan Document (DPD), which we are now consulting on.

“The DPD is a sizeable policy framework that will allow us to manage how the new settlement is developed moving forward, and due to its nature, it is more appropriate to host an online consultation to ensure all information and documents – of which there are many – are easy to view and digest.

“To ensure the public is made aware of this consultation we will be producing a video, FAQ document, issuing press release(s), social media posts, a Residents’ News article, as well as informing the community liaison group and printing leaflets and posters to raise awareness of the consultation.

“During more detailed master planning, when visual options are being presented and designs discussed, public exhibitions may be more appropriate.”

‘Green gap’ will protect villages from 3,000-home Maltkiln scheme, says council

A “green gap” proposed for a 3,000-home scheme in the Harrogate district will protect surrounding villages from the huge housing plans, council officials have claimed.

Ever since being revealed five years ago, a key concern of the proposed site in the Green Hammerton area has been the impact on existing residents who fear the new homes will put pressure on local services with a “devastating effect on the community”.

Harrogate Borough Council is behind the development and said it recognised that separating the site from existing communities was “very important”.

It has proposed a “green gap” to the north east of the site which will act as an area of safeguarded land and aims to “protect the distinctive rural character of existing villages”.

Residents have argued this area of land should be expanded further north and south to also protect the nearby villages of Whixley and Cattal.

However, the council has rejected these calls, saying it does not believe there is “sufficient justification” to do so and that it did not want to restrict a potential expansion of the 3,000-home site to be named Maltkiln.

The council said in a report: 

“Development of Maltkiln is a long term project, with delivery over a period of some 30 years.

“Whilst there is no expansion planned for the current Local Plan period, the council does not wish to prejudice potential for future expansion in the longer term by creating a buffer around the proposed settlement boundary.”

The council also argued that safeguarding more land to the north and south would result in a “green belt by the back door” and not accord with national planning policy. Green belt land is protected areas where developments are only allowed in special circumstances.

The council added: 

“A strategic green gap on the eastern edge of Maltkiln is proposed in order to prevent coalescence and protect the distinctive rural character of existing villages.

“It is also a key part of achieving Maltkiln’s vision to be a vibrant new community in its own right, which provides new services and complements existing villages.”

The proposals for Maltkiln include two primary schools and land for a secondary school, as well as shops, employment space and a GP surgery which will be centred around Cattal train station.

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The council said it chose this location due to its transport links with the York-Harrogate-Leeds railway line and the A59.

A six-week consultation on the development plan document is planned for October when residents will be asked to share their views on areas including roads and public transport.

After this, the document will then be submitted to the government for public examination.

Rise in empty homes adds pressure on Harrogate district housing market

The number of empty homes in the Harrogate district has increased post-covid despite the district’s severe shortage of affordable housing.

Harrogate Borough Council figures show there are currently 801 properties that have stood empty for more than six months – up from 758 in February.

There are also 204 properties that have been empty for over two years, while 30 have been vacant for over a decade.

This comes at a time when housing is in desperate need, with high property prices and a national decline in real wages forcing residents out of Harrogate, which remains as one of the most unaffordable places to live in the UK.

There are also around 1,800 households on the council’s housing register.

The council said it has continued efforts since introducing an empty homes strategy in 2019, although it added much of the responsibility to ensure these properties don’t put pressure on the housing market was on homeowners themselves.

It said in a report: 

“The council has agreed to pursue enforcement action where necessary as part of the empty homes strategy.

“Empty homes represent a wasted housing resource; they also pose other problems for local authorities, owners, neighbours, emergency services and the environment.

“They are often a blemish on an area and can be subject to vandalism and anti-social behaviour.”

The council has carried out enforcement action on several empty properties through compulsory purchase orders which allow it to take ownership without the consent of the owner.

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However, the council’s first step is to always make an offer to buy these buildings.

It has set aside £2.5 million for this and has recently proposed to buy three buildings on Almsford Road, Rawson Street and Hartwith Drive in Harrogate, and one on Kings Road in Knaresborough.

The council said there is “no guarantee” that an empty homeowner will agree to sell and that in order to take enforcement action the authority must demonstrate it has “exhausted all efforts” to return the property to use.

It said:

“This includes enabling the empty homeowner to sell their home voluntarily.

“In cases where an offer is refused this forms the basis of reviewing further enforcement action such as compulsory purchase, enforced sale or an empty dwelling management order.”

Why are homes left empty?

There are numerous reasons properties can lie empty. In some instances, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent out.

Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them. Rentals can also fall below safety standards which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.

What else can be done? 

As well as carrying out compulsory purchase orders, the government has also given councils powers to charge an additional 100% council tax on properties that have been empty for two years.

Empty dwelling management orders can also be issued for long term empty properties that are attracting vandalism and causing a nuisance to the community.

Flaxby modular housebuilder acquires site in Hastings

Flaxby-based modular house builder ilke Homes has bought a site in Hastings to develop 140 affordable properties.

The 12.35-acre site already has outline planning permission and was previously owned by Hastings Borough Council.

Work is expected to start in autumn this year ahead of completion in 2024. A total of 84 homes will be ‘zero carbon’ and powered by renewable energy.

The company, which has 500 employees, builds homes at its factory on Flaxby Moor Industrial Estate near Knaresborough that are then delivered across the UK.

Tom Heathcote, executive director of development at ilke Homes, said:

“We have enjoyed working closely with Hastings Borough Council’s Estates Team and the local authorities planning department to bring forward our proposals for the site at Harrow Lane.

“Subject to the clearance of pre-commencement conditions, we are excited to commence on site later this year.”

Cllr Maya Evans, deputy leader and portfolio holder for housing at the council, added:

“We are very impressed with ilke Homes, who have gone above and beyond in ensuring 84 homes are zero carbon.

“This means the energy they use will be 100 per cent renewable, on top of fabric first sustainable building materials.”

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Free business workshop in Harrogate

ActionCOACH Harrogate is hosting its second free business workshop at Starling Independent Bar Cafe Kitchen on September 7.

It’s been designed for business owners who want “a more manageable, more profitable business that can work without them”.

Andrew Joy will talk delegates through the ActionCOACH 6 steps model that’s used by many companies around the world.

The free morning of business coaching will include marketing concepts, sales promotion and profit-building systems.

To register visit here.