Knaresborough Community Land Trust’s bid to build affordable apartments on the town’s high street has been refused by Harrogate Borough Council.
The not-for-profit group wanted to build the housing because it believes Knaresborough has become too expensive for local people to live.
Three homes would have been built on a disused plot of land that once housed a public toilet near Knaresborough House.
The CLT would have owned the homes and rented them to local people at below the market rate.
The plans received support from Knaresborough Civic Society, which praised their “innovative design”.
However, Harrogate Borough Council planning department disagreed this week and said the proposal would harm Knaresborough Conservation Area.
The council also refused the application because of the loss of open space and seven trees. The CLT had planned to replant 14 trees at alternative locations in town.
Hilary Gardner, secretary of Knaresborough CLT, told the Stray Ferret the refusal was “hugely disappointing”, particularly as the council had initially offered it the plot to build affordable housing.
Ms Gardner said:
“Harrogate Borough Council has wasted two years of volunteers’ time on a project that was their idea. That leaves me aghast. They suggested the land as they wanted affordable housing on it.
“We are deciding whether to go to appeal. There were some very good people in Harrogate Borough Council housing that were with us all the way.
“This is a brownfield site. The council are allowing large building on greenfield sites. They offered us this particular piece. I feel that was quite cynical. They like the idea of the CLT but there are other pieces of land that would have been much more straightforward.”
Plans to create affordable flats for key workers in Knaresborough
Housing Investigation: New homes out of reach for too many locals
In December, the Stray Ferret spoke to Steph Getao, a director of Knaresborough CLT who is in her early 30s.
She said she was moving away from Knaresborough with her husband due to high house prices. She believes the CLT is necessary to keep young people in the town.
She said:
More homes added to 600-home Manse Farm development in Knaresborough“Without young people, Knaresborough will get more and more sleepy. The high street is basically all old dear shops! Knaresborough needs its young.”
More homes are to be added to the 600-home Manse Farm development in Knaresborough.
Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee yesterday granted approval for an extra 24 properties at the site, which is being built out by developers Taylor Wimpey and Linden Homes.
Councillors also approved changes to the road layout in order for the site to link up with separate proposals from Taylor Wimpey for 400 homes at the nearby Highfield Farm.
The Highfield Farm plans have yet to be granted planning permission and, if approved, would mean building over 1,000 homes to the east of Knaresborough in what councillors previously described as a “new village” being tacked onto the town.
The extra homes at Manse Farm were approved despite an objection from Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council, which said:
“The total 1,000 approved houses on the east side of Knaresborough, at the Manse Farm and the neighbouring Highfield Farm developments, are already excessive and inappropriate.
“Adding more housing in this soon-to-be congested area is not supported and we strongly recommend reducing the housing density at this, and each of the other developments, to make this a more rewarding living environment.”
Speaking at a meeting today, Becky Lomas, an agent for Taylor Wimpey, defended the increase in house numbers, saying it would provide more smaller family homes for the area.
She said:
“The uplift in dwellings is as a result of looking at the mix of housing – we have looked at what was previously proposed and there are now more smaller family homes.
“The uplift is also only in the developable area of the site, so we haven’t reduced any green space, public open space, landscaping or wildlife corridors.”
Also included in the Manse Farm development are plans for a new primary school, which will cater for families moving into the new homes.
In May, Elevate Multi Academy Trust was appointed by the Department for Education to run the school, which will provide 210 places for pupils, with the capacity to take in a total of 420 children if needed in future.
The project is expected to cost in the region of £5m and will be funded by North Yorkshire County Council using government grants, together with a £2m contribution from the developers.
Elevate Multi Academy Trust already runs Meadowside Academy, Aspin Park Academy and St John’s C of E Primary School in Knaresborough, as well as nine other schools in Yorkshire.
Bid for 780 homes and new school on Harrogate’s Otley RoadA major 780-home development and new primary school could be built on Otley Road near Beckwithshaw.
The Windmill Farm development would be the largest housing scheme to be built in Harrogate for many years. It would dwarf the nearby village of Beckwithshaw, which has a population of 400.
The housing would be built on green fields on the opposite side of the road from the charity-run nursery Horticap and behind RHS Harlow Carr. Part of the land is currently used by Beaver Horse Shop.
Planning consultants Johnson Mowat has released aerial computer generated images of the proposed development, which also includes a new primary school, community hub and shop. It would have three access points on Otley Road.
Four hundred of the homes would be built by Taylor Wimpey UK and the remaining 380 by Redrow Homes. Johnson Mowat said 32% of the site would remain as “open green space”.
A website containing details of the development invites people to give their thoughts. No formal planning application has been submitted yet.
The website says:
“The site is considered a suitable location to meet the need for new homes, it is well located with ideal access to Harrogate town centre and good public transport networks.|
The site is allocated for development in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, which is a document that lays out where development can take place in the district until 2034.
A preliminary scoping application approved by the council in 2019 suggested 1,000 homes and two primary schools could be built on the site.
If the Windmill Farm development is granted full planning approval, it would mean over 1,200 homes could be built on that section of Otley Road.
The government’s housing agency, Homes England, has plans to build 560 homes on Bluecoat Park, near Harrogate police station.
A spokesperson for Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association told the Stray Ferret it was “very concerned” about the scale of the Windmill Farm development and its impact on the environment.
They added:
Pannal residents ‘erupt in fury’ at Dunlopillo housing plans“When added to the other developments proposed for this section of the Otley Road we remain unconvinced that such a development will prove sustainable.
“Given the scale of what is being proposed, we believe that there needs to be a full consultation event for the wider public, that should also include Bluecoat Park to share their views.”
Plans have been submitted to demolish the former Dunlopillo office block in Pannal and build new apartments.
However, the proposal, which would see the new building being two storeys higher than the old one, has proved unpopular with local residents.
Otley-based developer Quattro Property Group has submitted the plans, which would see the 1961 office block demolished and replaced with 48 one-and two-bedroom apartments.
It would be split into two blocks, one with four storeys and another with six.
There would also be one car parking space per apartment plus additional spaces for visitors at the back of the building.
Planning consultants Johnson Mowat has submitted planning documents to Harrogate Borough Council on behalf of the developer that says the scheme would be an improvement on the current empty office block, which has been deteriorating for several years. It says:
“This site has been a blot on the landscape for far too long and we are looking forward to delivering a high quality building.”
A computer generated image of the plans.
Long-term Pannal resident Anne Smith, who has also written several books about the village, told the Stray Ferret residents had “erupted in fury” at the proposals and were mobilising to submit objections.
She said:
“It will look awful. It looks bad enough as it is. It will swamp Pannal. Forty-eight flats will mean up to 96 people.”
“Everybody I’ve spoken to in Pannal will put objections in.
“The building is a monstrosity and we in Pannal had hoped it was going to be demolished and replaced with smaller houses.”
The Stray Ferret asked Johnson Mowat to comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Housing plans set for ‘eyesore’ Dunlopillo office block in Pannal
Plan for eight commercial units on former Dunlopillo site in Pannal
From 1938 to 1949, the site was occupied by the Bintex factory, which manufactured radar equipment for use during the Second World War.
It was bought by rubber manufacturer Dunlop, which changed its name to Dunlopillo and made the site its headquarters.
It is estimated around 440 people worked there in its 1970s and 80s heyday producing pillows, mattresses, beds and latex cushioning for cars.
Much of the site has already been demolished and replaced with housing as well as the Vida Grange care home.
Bid to bring Harrogate district empty homes back into useA senior Harrogate councillor has agreed to offer taxpayers’ cash to buy three empty homes and bring them back into use.
Councillor Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, signed off a decision at a meeting yesterday to make offers for the homes on Greenfields Drive and Electric Avenue in Harrogate, and Beech Lane in Spofforth.
If agreed by the owners, the council will appoint an independent valuer to provide a market valuation of the properties before selling them on the open market.
But if the offers are ignored or refused, enforcement action will be taken through compulsory purchase orders.
Councillor Chambers said:
“Empty properties are a blight for communities and the council will use all available power to bring them back into use, including assistance and enforcement action when necessary.
“Enforcement is the last choice and we have a range of options available to homeowners to assist them in returning their property to use.
“This includes the Empty Homes Loan made available last month. Owners with a property that has been empty for six months or longer can apply for a loan to undertake essential works on a property to return it to use.”
There are currently 811 properties across the district that have been empty for more than six months – a figure which has risen from 774 in May.
Of the latest figure, 215 have been empty and unfurnished for over two years, while 31 have been empty for over ten years.
The council has previously admitted there is a “desperate” lack of affordable homes in the district and said it was working hard to bring empty properties back into use.
It has also set aside around £2.5m to purchase these properties from their owners.
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, while others can also fall below safety standards which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.
As well as carrying out compulsory purchase orders, councils also have 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.
Housing developer dubbed ‘insensitive’ over Kingsley street namesResidents have called Barratt Homes “ignorant” and “insensitive” for its choice of names for two new roads on one of its housing developments.
Barratt is building 100 homes on a former green field off Kingsley Drive near Knaresborough Road.
The development, which is called Kingsley Meadows, includes new roads Meadow Place and Wildflower Close, which has attracted the ire of Kingsley Ward Action Group who think the names are cruelly ironic.
Locals fought against the proposals and submitted 155 objections with many lamenting the loss of green space. The application was initially refused by Harrogate Borough Council in 2015 because councillors agreed it would “unduly harm the rural pastoral character” of the area.
However, the application came during the period when HBC had no Local Plan, and the developer succeeded in overturning the decision on appeal.
Credit – Bill Shaw
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John Hansard from Kingsley Ward Action Group told the Stray Ferret it was “ironic” that the developer had chosen to give the new roads these names, considering what was there before.
A field on Kingsley Drive, with a crane from the Kingsley Meadows development in the background. Bill Shaw.
Mr Hansard accused the developer of “crass insensitivity and commercialism”.
He added:
“Why not stop at this, why not have a Deer Avenue, a Fox Drive or a Badger Close, after the animals whose habitats they’re destroying?
“These people are ignorant, thoughtless and only interested in making a fast buck at the expense of communities and the environment.”
A spokesperson for Barratt Homes said:
Are Harrogate’s high housing costs to blame for the hospitality recruitment crisis?“The road names at Kingsley Meadows have been chosen in consistency with the name of the development itself and to reflect the scenery of its surroundings. The names were certainly not intended to cause offence to local residents and were required to meet the approval of Harrogate Borough Council before being confirmed.
“We have always been fully committed to supporting the ecology and biodiversity at Kingsley Meadows and its surrounding areas. As well as planting a number of new trees and enhancing the nearby watercourse with wetland wildflowers, we have installed hedgehog highways across the development and a wildlife friendly garden at its show home.”
A recruitment crisis at Betty’s forced the famous cafe to close its doors early last week — and other Harrogate hotels, pubs, and restaurants have spoken of difficulties in employing people.
But could Harrogate’s notoriously high rental and property costs be to blame?
The average rental property in Harrogate for a one-bedroom flat is £656 a month. For an adult earning full-time minimum wage at a local bar, this would make up more than half their monthly pay packet — and that’s before council tax, bills and other expenses.
The Stray Ferret spoke to two people who work in housing in Harrogate to ask if the two are linked.
Sarah Hart helped create Harrogate Community Land Trust four years ago after becoming demoralised with the cost of housing in the town.
She thinks high living costs have made Harrogate an unviable option for people earning hospitality wages. She predicts more venues will be forced to reduce their opening hours due to staff shortages.
“House prices and rents have been pushed up even further whilst wages haven’t. It’s a crucial link and we’re at a critical point. It’s not a housing crisis, it’s becoming an armageddon situation.”
Ms Hart says that with both petrol prices and housing costs increasing, hospitality workers who could commute to Harrogate from Bradford and Leeds will decide to find jobs closer to home.
She believes an intervention in the housing market such as rent caps is needed so hospitality workers can afford to rent in the town.
Rent caps have been used in Germany and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also believes it could help solve the housing inequalities in the capital.
Ms Hart added:
“Housing in Harrogate benefits the few and not the many.
“If people had lower rent they’d have a higher disposable income.
“I met someone from Harrogate paying 60% in housing costs. There’s nothing left at the end of the day. No money for summer holidays or for her kids to do to stuff. If she had a lower rent she’d have money to spend in the local economy. It’s as basic as it gets.”
Harrogate-based property consultant Alex Goldstein believes that job shortages in hospitality are primarily due to covid and not high property or rental prices.
Mr Goldstein said property prices and rents have increased in Harrogate whilst wages have stagnated but he believes it’s wrong to suggest that Harrogate’s economy is overly dependent on low-paid hospitality workers. He thinks that increasing housing costs are good for the town as it brings in investment.
He said:
“Some people feel they’ve been left out in the cold. You’ve got to earn your keep. If you can’t afford to live in Harrogate you should move elsewhere.
“You work up the ladder and Harrogate opens up for you. You’ve got to bide your time. If you can’t afford something, you can’t afford it. A lot of society wants it here and the world doesn’t work like that.”
On the subject of rent caps, Mr Goldstein said the “draconian” measure would unfairly hurt investors who purchase buy-to-let properties in Harrogate which he believes gives the local economy a boost. He said: “We can’t make sweeping changes to the market”.
He added:
“Harrogate has always been an expensive part of the world and it’s increased hugely.
“But there will always be winners and losers.
“I would like to live in Mayfair with a Lamborghini, but I can’t afford it.”
Owners of Harrogate hospitality venues have complained for years that it’s not easy to fill roles pulling pints or waiting tables in the town.
Whether this is because of low wages, Brexit, undesirable working conditions, too many bars and restaurants, or high living costs, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason.
But in Harrogate, there is a feeling the issue of attracting and keeping good hospitality staff won’t be solved anytime soon.
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Tomorrow we’ll be looking at the acute shortage of chefs and the impact of Brexit on the recruitment crisis.
Harrogate Borough Council is set to offer £811,000 for three empty homes in the district.
The homes, which are on Greenfields Drive and Electic Avenue in Harrogate, and Beech Lane in Spofforth, would not be used for social housing but instead would be sold on by HBC on the open market should the offers be accepted by the owners.
Any profits made would go back into buying more empty homes so they can be brought back into use.
There are currently 811 properties across the district that have been empty for six months or longer. Of these, 215 have been empty and unfurnished for over two years. 31 have been empty for over ten years.
The report says:
“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.”
A report will go before HBC’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, Conservative Cllr Mike Chambers, next week that asks him to rubber stamp the move.
If the council’s offers on the three homes are not accepted the report says HBC will consider enforcement action, such as compulsory purchase.
Woman says it’s ‘impossible’ to move to Harrogate whilst on Universal CreditA woman wanting to rent a property in Harrogate says “it seems impossible” to find an estate agent that will accept her because she receives Universal Credit.
Karen Andrew was born and brought up in Harrogate but has lived in Essex for the last 20 years.
After splitting up with her partner she wants to return to be closer to her family but said she feels discriminated against by estate agents and landlords because of her situation.
She also owns a three-year-old Staffy-cross dog which has posed another obstacle in her search for somewhere to live.
She told the Stray Ferret:
“The second you mention Universal Credit or a dog they don’t want to know.
“I want to move back to my hometown and I didn’t think it would be this difficult.”
Ms Andrew, who works part-time at a school and hopes to find a new job in Harrogate, said estate agents need to “look at the bigger picture”.
“Just because you have a dog and are on Universal Credit you’re not a scumbag.”
Universal Credit is a monthly payment for people on low incomes or out of work. It can include a housing element at a rate that is set by the local authority. Ms Andrew is looking for a one-bedroom property in Harrogate at the Local Housing Allowance rate of £523.55.
Ms Andrew said one estate agent, Linley & Simpson, would only recommend her as a tenant to their landlords if she provided six months’ rent upfront which she said she does not have.
She is currently in limbo in Essex whilst she searches for a property in Harrogate that accepts her.
She added:
“We are meant to be a nation of dog and pet lovers but I haven’t found this to be the case while looking for a property to rent.
“Claiming Universal Credit does not mean that you can’t be bothered or don’t want to work. Lots of people on Universal Credit are working but are on a low income.”
A spokesperson for Linley & Simpson told the Stray Ferret that all tenants have to pass a credit check from Goodlord that assesses their financial situation.
They said any decision to allow pets is up to the landlord but that they would be happy to speak to Ms Andrew again to discuss her situation.
They added:
“Our job as the agent is to find a suitable tenant who is capable of covering the cost of the rent for the duration of the tenancy. The same criteria is applied to all applicants.”
Earlier this year, the National Residential Landlords Association called on the government to improve the Universal Credit administration system so the benefit can better support tenants.
Plans to convert Harrogate church hall into townhousesPlans have been submitted to convert a hall that is part of a Grade II listed church in Harrogate into townhouses.
Inglehurst Property has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to create two three-bedroom properties for older people in the hall of Trinity Methodist Church, on Trinity Road, near the Stray.
Under the proposals, a new slate roof would be added to the building as well as an extra floor to accommodate the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Planning documents say the methodist church closed the hall several years ago to raise funds to repair the adjoining church, which opened in 1879.
The hall was sold to the First Church of Christ Scientist, which used it for services until membership dwindled.
Last year, Harrogate’s Muslim community identified the hall as a site for the district’s first mosque but this does not appear to have progressed.