Green Shoots: Harrogate’s most environmentally-friendly house?

Green Shoots is a new monthly feature that explores the people and places that are doing their bit to improve the environment in the Harrogate district. Would you like to be involved? Get in touch: thomas@thestrayferret.co.uk

Tucked away on Bogs Lane in Harrogate is a home so good for the environment that it’s not just fit for the 21st century, but for the next one too.

Tim and Marilyn Larner bought a drafty 250-year old farmhouse on the site in 2016. After demolishing some barns that stood behind it, they built two homes in 2017 and moved into one of them at the end of the following year.

The couple proudly displays a Passivhaus plaque by their front door, which is a hallmark of its environmental credentials. The five-bedroom property is one of only two houses in Harrogate built to the strict standards.

Developed in Germany in the 1990s, Passivhaus is seen as a game-changer for low-carbon housing. It’s an innovative design code that prioritises insulation so that a home doesn’t need any heating or cooling at all, resulting in minimal energy bills. 

The Larners’ home has other eco benefits including solar panels on the roof to generate electricity and air source heat pump that brings in heat from outside and pumps it indoors.

Mr Larner said:

“It’s a delight and a great joy to live here.”

Subtle benefits

The front of the house has smaller windows as it is north facing.

Mr Larner estimates the house cost around 10% more to build than traditional methods — but the upside is electricity and heating bills are just £20 a year due to super air-tight insulation and renewable energy.

The whole house is wrapped in 300mm of rock wool all as well as air-tight membrane and there is 200mm of solid insulation on the roof.

Walking around the home, which is largely open-plan, the environmental benefits are subtle. Ventilation comes in through ducts in the ceiling and the large south-facing windows greedily maximise the amount of warmth offered by the sun.

The timber frame of the building was assembled like flat-pack furniture in just three days, bypassing the polluting and carbon-intensive building process entirely. Mr Larner said this ensures the quality and precision needed to make their home super air-tight.

The open-plan living space.

He added:

“We wanted to do the right thing environmentally. That was our main motivation for doing it.”

“It’s incredibly comfortable, really quiet and probably a lot healthier place to live. It’s a very controlled environment. You are never sitting in a draft. It’s lovely.”

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Housing targets

The upper level of the home lets lots of light in.

The property contrasts sharply with the glut of new build developments that surround it on the Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane area of Harrogate.

Mrs Larner said the building industry “has a massive vested interest” in building homes quickly and they don’t always consider the impact of housing on the environment.

She added:

“The government says they need more houses but they often choose volume over quality. They are throwing up houses around here.”

Mr Larner said the government needs to bring in legislation to ensure that more homes are built with the environment in mind:

“Builders should be out there doing this, but I fear regulation needs to make that happen. You can’t leave it to the market to deliver a house like this.”

“But It can be done. If you’re saving £1000 a year in energy costs and you hgave a better quality of life, what’s not to like about that? It’s a pity we have the financial availabilty to do this whereas others do not”.

Lifelong ambition

Mr Larner said rather than worrying about climate change, he and Marilyn wanted to take action. They see building their home as doing their bit.

“I don’t worry about climate change, it’s more important to act and be positive and hopeful. I don’t take any pleasure in what I’ve handed onto my grandchildren. They will hopefully be alive in 2100, what’s the world going to be like when they’re at that age?”

Building a home has been a lifelong ambition too. Many years ago, Mrs Larner had an uncle who built his own property. It left a lasting impression on the couple.

She said:

“It was amazing. 40 years ago I took Tim as my brand new husband, and he was just like — wow!”.

Mr Larner said they could never go back to how they used to live.

“We designed this house with the rest of our lives in mind.

“It’s fit for the future. I’m hoping someone will be happy to live in it in 100 years time.”

Sell your Harrogate home quickly before Stamp Duty rises

The article is sponsored by Hopkinsons Estate Agents.

If you are thinking of selling your house by the end of June to make the most of reduced Stamp Duty, you need to move fast and find an agent who’s geared up for a rapid sale.

Harrogate-based Hopkinsons will cut through the process and get your house on the market within three days, with:

Hopkinsons founder, Jeremy Hopkinson, says properties in Harrogate are selling extremely quickly at the moment:

“I’m the busiest I’ve ever been since I started selling property in 1989; because of the pandemic, more people are wanting to move for a variety of personal reasons – and we’re ready to help you rapidly sell your home. From valuation to instruction, we will have your property on the market within three days.”

3 Gilsforth Lane went live with Hopkinsons on 26 March. Five days and nine viewings later, a sale had been agreed.

To help your home sell as quickly as possible in preparation for the end of the Stamp Duty reduction, Jeremy has this advice:

If you are buying a home, Jeremy has some additional tips:

“If you act fast, you still have time to complete before the end of the tax freeze, subject to local searches. Hopkinsons is 100% focused on residential sales in the Harrogate district and have a track record of speedy sales, so get in touch.”

You can contact Jeremy and the Hopkinsons team at www.hopkinsons.net or on 01423 501 201.

 

Harrogate residents disappointed at 95-home Granby Farm approval

Residents’ groups that fought against the 95-home Granby Farm development have expressed disappointment at Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to grant planning permission.

Redrow Homes was given the green light yesterday to build the homes by the council’s planning committee despite complaints the development will result in the loss of the last remaining link between the Stray and the town’s surrounding countryside.

Gary Walker, from Granby Residents’ Group, wondered whether the fear of contesting a costly legal appeal had played on the minds of some councillors.

Last month, the government’s planning inspectorate overturned a planning committee decision to refuse 149 homes on nearby Kingsley Road. The council was ordered to pay the developer’s legal costs.

He said:

“It’s been a long fight and we are obviously very disappointed. Four councillors voted against the development and we were impressed with what Cllr Pat Marsh had to say.

“We already have a good supply of housing in Harrogate.”

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The plans include an access road that cuts through Pickering Gardens, which was created when the former Harrogate rugby union ground was redeveloped for housing.

Members of the Devonshire Gardens Residents’ Association argued that the road will destroy a green space that has been a lifeline to people during lockdown.

An access road to the new development will be created through Pickering Gardens.

The group’s chairman, Mark Tordoff, said:

“We feel as residents we all pulled together and put up a good fight.

“However, many of the planning committee members appeared totally disinterested at the impact the development will have on our park.”

The Local Plan

People who have contested the plans over the past year pointed to a council assessment report published in 2016, which said about half of the site should be maintained as a green corridor under any housebuilding plans.

This, however, was only a recommendation and didn’t become official policy when the Local Plan was adopted last year and included the Granby Farm site.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“Every planning application received is carefully considered on its own planning merits.

“Recommendations presented to the planning committee are based on whether they align with our adopted Local Plan, local and national planning policy, legislation, consultation and anything else that might be material to the case.

“They are not based on fear of incurring legal costs.”

John Handley, managing director of Redrow Yorkshire said:

“We’re pleased that the benefits of our proposed development have been recognised and are looking forward to fulfilling our promise to deliver a scheme that demonstrates strong placemaking and contributes to the surrounding community. “

Plans approved to build 95 homes at Harrogate’s Granby Farm

Harrogate councillors have approved controversial plans to build 95 homes on a grass field described by residents as a “vital green corridor” connecting the town to the countryside.

Redrow Homes were awarded planning permission to build the homes at Granby Farm at a meeting today despite complaints from residents that it would result in the loss of the last remaining link between the Stray and the town’s surrounding scenery.

Those who have contested the plans over the past year also pointed towards an assessment report published in 2016, which said around half of the site should be maintained as a green corridor under any housebuilding plans.

This, however, was only a recommendation and not made an official policy when the Local Plan was adopted last year.

Speaking at today’s Harrogate Borough Council planning committee, Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh voiced her objections to the plans and questioned why the assessment of Granby Farm was ever carried out.

She said:

“I won’t be supporting this – I don’t think it is achieving what the council set out when it went to the effort of pulling together a site assessment for inclusion in the Local Plan where it clearly puts into perspective what this site was meant to achieve.

“If we didn’t want to take note of it, why have it assessed?”

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Today’s approval of the plans also follows warnings from worried locals that a planned access road connecting the nearby Devonshire Gardens development would “decimate” a parkland created for residents less than two years ago.

Richard Clark, an agent for Devonshire Gardens Residents’ Association, said the new street set to be built over Pickering Gardens would “split” the popular outdoor space in two.

He said:

“While this proposal includes replacement open space, splitting the existing space in two to allow access undoubtedly reduces its usefulness. Simply providing more does not address this.

“The access route proposed would of course be cheaper for the developers than securing access via Kingsley Drive, but being the cheaper option does not justify granting permission.”

Locals living south of the site on Roseville Gardens had also lodged complaints that the proximity of the new homes would “severely compromise” their privacy, although council planning officials said all guidelines had been met and that a cycle lane and landscaping measures would reduce the impact.

‘Ideal location for new housing’

The plans – which include 38 affordable homes – were voted through by seven votes for and four against.

Once construction is completed, there will be a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom properties.

Mike Ashworth, planning manager at Redrow Homes, told today’s meeting:

“The Granby Farm site forms a natural extension to our previous development at Devonshire Gardens and has been proposed for development since the drafting and eventual adoption of the Local Plan.

“It sits in an ideal location for new housing within walking distance of the town centre but also the extensive amenity space at the Stray. We will improve this relationship further through new and improved pedestrian and cycle links.

“The proposals have been subject to a number of changes in consultation with officers, consultees and neighbouring residents.

“The development of the site will lead to significant benefits, not least the delivery of housing to meet identified demand.”

Calls to refuse plans to build 95 homes at Granby Farm in Harrogate

A residents’ group has called on councillors to refuse plans to build 95 homes at Granby Farm in Harrogate and create a ‘green legacy’ instead.

Redrow Homes and Richborough Estates have submitted proposals for the development, which would be built on land designated for development in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan.

A council officer has recommended the plans be approved, subject to conditions, but the planning committee will make the final decision on Tuesday.

In a site assessment produced when creating the Local Plan, the council described the site as ‘an important part of the green infrastructure network’ of Harrogate and said any development should maintain 50% open fields — yet the plans propose only 25% be kept green.

The application has attracted over 150 objections from local residents, as well as from Harrogate Civic Society.

One objection, by Granby Residents Group, said developers should go back to the drawing board and retain a ‘green corridor’ so people can walk from the Stray to Nidd Gorge and to Longlands Common.

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Harrogate Civic Society said in its objection letter:

“An open corridor into the countryside is lost, giving pedestrians and cyclists only a narrow passageway through a housing estate to reach open country and the green belt.”

Gary Walker, whose house borders the field, said:

“The council has a unique opportunity to create a green corridor from the centre of Harrogate to Nidd Gorge. In order to ensure this is delivered the planning application must be rejected and modified.”

A design and access statement prepared on behalf of the developers said the site would include ‘significant green infrastructure’.

Redrow Yorkshire managing director John Handley said:

“Redrow is committed to strong placemaking and the creation of thriving communities. A key element of this involves designing in green spaces, enhancing or replacing existing wildlife habitats and better connecting people to them through thoughtful design of the public areas.

“In his report to councillors for the Harrogate site, the planning officer has confirmed that the amount of green space meets the requirements of the Local Plan.  We have also made revisions to landscaping, tree retention and supplementary planting which ensure that the finished site will offer a biodiversity net gain.

“Our plans include a large area of green space of just under a hectare which, in turn, connects to the existing open space created as part of our neighbouring Devonshire Gardens development. This creates a conjoined area of larger open space.  We are also incorporating a new footpath and cycle greenway, which will connect our development and other housing allocations in the area with both Harrogate town centre and The Stray.”

78 homes proposed at former Trelleborg factory site in Knaresborough

People in Knaresborough are being asked to comment on a proposed 78-home housing development on the site of the now demolished Trelleborg factory on Halfpenny Lane.

Countryside Properties, which is part of the Pegasus Group, is behind the scheme. They are yet to submit a formal planning application but say comments will help inform the types of homes it will include.

The site is not allocated for housing in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, but it is included on the council’s Brownfield Land Register which identifies sites that are considered to be appropriate for redevelopment for residential use.

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A website for the development claims the company specialises in homes that focus on “energy efficiency and green living, making people’s lives and the environment a better place to be.”

The consultation ends on April 7 and people can submit their comments here.

Meanwhile, work recently begun on a separate development on Halfpenny Lane where Persimmon Homes is building 74 homes. The first homes are expected to be completed this Autumn.

Plans to convert Ripon office block into apartments

Plans have been submitted to convert the Athelstan Court office block in Ripon into 19 homes.

The site owners, Athelstan Court Ltd and Spirit 80 Limited, are proposing 13 two-bedroom and six one-bedroom apartments with 30% being “affordable”.

The building on Kearsley Road has been empty since 2013 and lies within the College Business Park. It was previously used as offices by the Inland Revenue.

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In 2020, the building was being sold as office space for £1.3 million.

However, planning documents suggest the owners failed to find a buyer for this purpose:

“The marketing information over the past 7+ years has demonstrated that the site is not desirable for office use with no credible offers for use of the site for office use. This leads to conclude that the use of the site for employment use is unviable.”

Government overturns council decision to refuse 149 homes in Harrogate

The government’s Planning Inspectorate has overturned a Harrogate Borough Council decision to refuse 149 homes on Kingsley Road near to Harrogate High School.

In August 2020, HBC’s planning committee voted by 10 to 1 to refuse the application because they said it would make already clogged roads in the area even worse.

At the time, councillors also agreed that a 1km walk to the nearest bus stop was not practical for elderly people or families carrying shopping.

Developer Richborough Estates appealed the decision which was overturned earlier this week.

An inspector from the Planning Inspectorate, the government agency that deals with appeals, said HBC councillors “behaved unreasonably” in reaching its conclusion. They also highlighted the fact the site was already designated for development within HBC’s Local Plan.

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The inspector A M Nillson disagreed that the nearest bus stop was too far away for residents:

“I do not consider that future residents would be discouraged from accessing bus stops and local services and facilities on Knaresborough Road on foot.”

The council has also been ordered to pay the developer’s legal costs.

Local resident Gary Tremble from the Kingsley Ward Action Group criticised the decision to overturn the appeal. He said: “How can someone believe this is a sensible place to build housing?”.

Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh, who sits on the planning committee and voted against the development, said she was “fuming” and “outraged” at the planning inspectorate’s decision.

A spokesperson for Richborough Estates said:

“The Planning Inspectorate has reviewed the appeal for land off Kingsley Road and decided in our favour.”

Final approval for 80-home Green Hammerton scheme

Harrogate Borough Council has given final approval to an 80-home housing development in Green Hammerton.

Leeds-based developer Loxley Homes was granted outline planning permission to build the homes in January 2019.

Today the council’s planning committee considered a reserved matters application that dealt with the design and layout of the site.

Five councillors voted to approve the plans, three voted to refuse and three abstained.

The development, which will include 32 affordable houses, faced fierce opposition within the village, with 229 objections and none supporting.

Chris Chelton, co-chair of the Keep Green Hammerton Green action group, spoke to councillors and cited an objection from Historic England.

The public body said the views towards York’s skyline were some of Green Hammerton’s ‘most precious but fragile qualities’.

Mr Chelton added:

“Out of all the developments in Green Hammerton, this is the one that’s aroused the most local outrage, and with good reason. It will have a massive impact on its surroundings.

“You could refuse and say you are no longer prepared to sanction a development on a site as sensitive as this. Send the developers back to the drawing board to work harder.”

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Ann Myatt, Conservative councillor for Ouseburn, objected to the plans and also revealed that Conservative Selby & Ainsty MP Nigel Adams had intervened and written to committee members about the proposals.

Responding to comments that there are too many homes in the development, the agent Roger Rippon, speaking on behalf of Loxley Homes, said:

“I don’t believe this is over-development. All the government guidance says you should make the most use of a site. We’re not allowed to waste land by carrying out unreasonably low-density development.”

 

Former Home Guard club in Harrogate for sale

The former Home Guard club on the corner of Tower Street and Belford Road in Harrogate has been put on the market for £500,000.

Property agent Feather, Smailes, Scales says the 2,700 square foot building near St Peter’s School is in need of extensive repair but could be refurbished and turned into housing or retail space.

It also suggests the building could be demolished and rebuilt, if planners allow it.

Simon Croft, from Feather, Smailes, Scales said the former social club is in a “sorry state” but has the potential to be redeveloped.

He said:

“The building could become what someone would think would work best economically and prevent it from being an eyesore.”

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Home Guard members played snooker at the club.

There have been two planning applications in recent years to demolish the building and build four flats in its place, but they were both withdrawn. Objections were raised from both the Ancient Monuments Society and Harrogate Civic Society.

Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam told the Stray Ferret that the building has historical importance to Harrogate. It was originally the town’s second hospital from 1873 until 1883 before being used as Harrogate’s first custom-built Masonic Hall.

It was also where Harrogate’s Crimean War hero Sgt Major Robert Johnston died.

With the advent of the Second World War in 1939, the local Home Guard began using the building as a social club to relax with a drink and play snooker.

Since 1987, the ground floor has been used by various businesses including Sweet Tooth Munchies.

According to a letter from a former Home Guard club member that is contained within planning documents, the club was forced to disband and close the venue in 2015 because it did not have enough money to repair a leaking roof.