30 homes set to be built in Burton Leonard despite noise fears

Thirty homes are set to be built on the site of the former Hymas haulage yard in Burton Leonard despite concerns about noise from the farm next door.

Knaresborough-based Wharfedale Homes is behind the development for the brownfield site, which will feature a mixture of one to five-bedroom homes, with 30% being classed as affordable.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee met online this afternoon and voted to defer the decision to the chief planner for approval by 7 votes to 0, with two abstentions.

When the committee previously considered the proposal in January, councillors asked for a noise report to be conducted after the adjacent Hammond grain farm raised concerns about noise from its grain dryer.

Wharfedale Homes subsequently commissioned tests in July and August, which found noise was at acceptable levels for development.

However, Sue Hammond from the farm told the committee that due to an unusually poor harvest, farm machinery noise levels were much lower than usual when the tests were taken.

Ms Hammond added that the noise from her farm meant that approving the development would be to “the detriment and dismay of future dwellers and the future of our agribusiness”.

Read more:

Cllr Pat Marsh, who abstained, also questioned the noise impact on future residents. She said:

“I don’t think it’s right that we are imposing this noise on someone that wants to live there.”

Noise ‘not an obstacle’

Jon Beeston, from Wharfedale Homes, told the committee the noise monitoring took place “for an extensive period of time and used modelling with a worst-case scenario”. He added:

“Noise is not an obstacle to residential development on this site.”

Cllr Nigel Sims said the tests meant the council had “no grounds to refuse” the application on the basis of noise.

He said:

“If people don’t want to buy these houses then people won’t buy them. It’s as simple as that.”

Harrogate house sales fall by 50%, but ‘manic’ market now rebounding

House sales in Harrogate virtually halved in the first six months of the year but estate agents say a “manic” July and August means 2020 will end strongly.

The Stray Ferret analysed Land Registry data, which shows when and where houses with a Harrogate postcode were sold.

From 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020, 442 homes were purchased, compared with 872 in the same period in 2019. This represents a decline of 49%.

Estate agents were forced to close from 23 March until 13 May and the figures show how lockdown hit the previously buoyant sector hard.

However, Alex Atkinson, sales manager at Linley & Simpson estate agent in Harrogate told the Stray Ferret that despite the sluggish figures for January to June, it had experienced a “manic” July and August, with several homes sold for above the asking price.

He said this has been driven, in part, by the stamp duty holiday that was announced in July.

Mr Atkinson said:

“The market has been brilliant. I cannot remember the last time we agreed five sales above the asking price in one week.”

Read more:

UK house prices are at a historic all-time high but Mr Atkinson said it’s unlikely the housing boom will last into 2021 as the long-term economic impact of coronavirus deepens.

He said:

“The furlough scheme is still yet to end and there will probably be an economic downturn with redundancies, then the stamp duty holiday will end after Christmas. It won’t last forever but my hope is it will quieten down for a little while before picking back up next year.”

Mr Atkinson said about 30% of people currently buying a home in the Harrogate district are from out of the area. He said people from cities like Leeds were being tempted by the large gardens that houses in the district can offer, especially after being cooped up indoors during lockdown.

He added:

“Since lockdown we’ve seen a massive shift in our village and rural properties. Anything with land or outdoor space is selling like hotcakes at the moment.”

Developer offers 5% new home discount to key workers

Houses at a newly completed housing development at Kirby Hill, near Boroughbridge, are being offered to key workers with a 5% discount.

Developer Caedmon Homes says the discount will be applied to three and four bed houses and could add up to a £19,000 reduction on the price.

The Priory Meadows site is a development of 34 homes ranging from two-bedroom bungalows to five-bedroom detached homes, with prices starting at £377,500. James Baker of agent Preston Baker said:

“As the world slowly gets back to normal after the global pandemic, we have hosted a number of open weekends at Priory Meadows and the reaction has been phenomenal. We were so incredibly busy last weekend that we opened on the Monday as well – and that was equally stacked out.

“The upshot is that we have agreed four sales since lockdown, which is a superb return – and a massive endorsement of this stunning development. There are now only 12 houses left to buy.

“As a special thank you to the selfless key workers during Covid-19, we are offering them a five per cent discount on this site for two three/four bed houses, which are the same house type as the show home. That equates to a discount of almost £19,000.”

Porch outside of one of the new houses at Priory Meadows, Boroughbridge

The development has proved popular even over lockdown with 60% of the house already sold.

Read more:

Simon Bowler, a Yorkshire-based landscape architect, has crafted three bespoke porches for the development’s flagship houses.

Priory Meadows has been shortlisted for Residential Development of the Year (fewer than 50 homes) in the Yorkshire Property Industry Awards, alongside three other developments – including one other in the Harrogate district, The Chase on Harlow Hill, Harrogate.

 

95 homes at Granby Farm will destroy ‘green corridor’

A residents group has told the Stray Ferret that 95 homes proposed for Granby Farm near Harrogate High School will destroy a vital “green corridor” that connects the Stray to the countryside.

Richborough Estates has submitted plans for 95 homes to be built on the land that is designated for development within Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan.

In a site assessment produced by HBC when formulating the Local Plan, the council said because the site “is an important part of the green infrastructure network” of Harrogate, any development on the site should maintain 50% open fields — yet plans submitted propose only 25% is kept green.

Gary Walker, from Granby Residents Association, said HBC should refuse the plans on this basis to “create a legacy” for the town.

He said:

“We believe a green corridor needs to be maintained. We don’t feel the current plans address that objective. There’s an opportunity for the council to create a legacy for the town by providing an access route for the Stray through to Nidd Gorge that could be enjoyed by the people of Harrogate.

 

“People are totally opposed to the proposals. We accept the field will be developed, however we are extremely disappointed the proposal on the table doesn’t meet the council’s recommendation for green space. The council could miss a big opportunity to create a green corridor and help the environment and wildlife.”

Richborough proposes 38 homes will be affordable and 57 will be sold at market rate. All the market rate properties would be either four or five-bedroom houses.

The public consultation for the plans will end on August 14.

The Stray Ferret asked Richborough to comment but it had not replied at the time of publication.

Read more:

There are several developments in the Kingsley area of Harrogate — which could see over 650 homes eventually built.

Richborough is also the developer for a separate application for 155 homes on Kingsley Road.

Last month it was told by HBC to “go away and rework” its proposals due to overdevelopment. Updated plans will go before HBC’s planning committee next week.

Whinney Lane in Harrogate to be closed for seven months

A section of Whinney Lane in Harrogate will be closed to traffic from Monday, July 27 to February 28.

The closure is due to the construction of two site access points for the Castle Hill Farm housing development as well as a new roundabout.

The road will be closed from the Castle Hill Drive junction and continue until around 200m before the Squinting Cat pub.

Read more:

Meanwhile, Penny Pot Lane will be closed to traffic for four weeks, beginning on Monday, August 3.

This is for the Persimmon King Edwin Park residential development between the Jubilee roundabout and the Ethelburga’s estate.

Access to the estate will be kept open during the road closure and cycling and walking will be permitted.

Harrogate estate agents relieved at stamp duty holiday

Harrogate estate agents say a stamp-duty holiday could help revive a struggling housing market.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in his summer statement that the threshold for stamp duty will be raised from£125,000 per home to £500,000.

The measure will only be temporary and is intended to boost a flagging housing market that has been disrupted due to coronavirus.

Harrogate has been no exception and it is hoped the change in stamp duty could bring some confidence back to the market.

Read more:

Estate agent Andrew Hill told the Stray Ferret that the stamp duty holiday will give the market in Harrogate a boost after several fallow months.

He said:

“I think it will be a positive step in the right direction and it might just help people buy a house. It’s money in the right place at the right time to kickstart the housing market. We’re looking forward to it.”

Even though the market shut down from March to May, Mr Hill said the early signs for the rest of the year are positive.

He added:

“The market has set off a lot stronger than we ever dreamt of.

A lot of pent up demand got satisfied as lockdown restrictions eased. The news about stamp duty will help again.

The market will slow down people will be a bit more nervous but there hasn’t been too many signs of that so far.”

Will Linley, chief executive of Linley & Simpson, said it was a major boost for the industry and one that should “turbo charge” the Yorkshire property market.

He said:

“Whilst we have seen the property market making a steady post-Covid recovery, today’s announcement by the Chancellor is very welcome news indeed.

“There was a fear that its introduction would be delayed, which would have immediately put the brakes house sales.

“The stamp duty holiday will make a huge difference for those purchasing properties up to £500,000 and will encourage some to look at flats and houses that were originally out of their price bracket.”

Council steps in to buy Summerbridge social housing

Harrogate District Council has stepped in to buy five homes in Summerbridge for social housing after a national housing charity pulled out of the development.

The homes, worth around £395,000, at Poppyfields will be offered to people in Upper Nidderdale as social rented properties.

The houses were originally allocated as four affordable rented properties and one shared ownership as part of a wider 13 home development.

Housing sites, such as Poppyfields, have a requirement to allocate 40% of homes to affordable housing.

Read more:

But the original housing association for the affordable homes, Home Group, pulled out of projects across the country in March in order to focus on other “strategic sites”.

Now, senior councillors on the authority’s cabinet have voted to step in to purchase the houses and offer them to local residents in order to salvage the housing scheme.

The council said the current pandemic has left “considerable uncertainty” in the housing market and an increase in demand for rented homes in Nidderdale.

Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing, said it was right for the council to step in.

He said:

“It is very appropriate that we buy these houses.

“It allows us to provide much needed accommodation to people in Nidderdale and also has the effect of us being able to assist a small enterprise who might have otherwise had a difficult time in moving these houses.”

Harrogate loses ‘feel good factor’ due to new housing

Harrogate has lost its “feel-good factor” due to poorly designed housing being built in the town, according to a key member of Harrogate’s Civic Society.

Speaking to The Stray Ferret, Stuart Holland, joint chairman of the group, warned that the housing is putting the town’s “unique ambience” under strain.

Read more:

However, he said it can still be protected through good design.

He said:

“We’ve got to encourage better design but we won’t change it overnight.”

Several major housing schemes have been built across the district in recent years, with more in the pipeline as part of Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan.

Yet the design of many of the new homes are a familiar source of complaint for people living here.

Formed 40 years ago, the civic society published a new strategy earlier this month that hopes to influence better housing design.

Mr Holland hopes the strategy can help the group reinvent itself so it’s more relevant to a new generation of people who care about the town.

But what would the Victorian architects who designed heritage buildings like the Pump Rooms, Royal Hall and have to say about the new housing schemes?

According to Mr Holland, they would “be horrified”.

He added:

“They’d say they’re so small, they lack detail. But we’re spoilt in Harrogate with the architecture we’ve got. We can’t expect to be building the homes of the late 1880s.”

More homes added to major Ripon scheme

Harrogate councillors have recommended that more homes are added to a major housing scheme in Ripon.

Harrogate Borough Council’s Planning Committee met virtually on Zoom and agreed to defer the building of 14 new homes at Bishops Glade to the chief planner for approval.

131 homes were approved by HBC in 2017 and building at the site is currently underway.

Developer Harron Homes sought to build an extra 14 homes and change the mix of housing to include more affordable housing and more four-bedroom homes.

Read more:

Speaking at the meeting on behalf of the developer, agent Mark Beevers said the new four-bedroom homes were needed as “demand has fluctuated.”

Speaking against the proposals, Cllr Robert Windass said the number of four-bedroom homes already being built on the site is “over the top” and “all about profit for the developer.”

He added:

“They are not concerned about the mix as long as they get a maximum yield for the site”.

Cllr Pat Marsh said she was concerned at the affordable housing mix on the site and felt there are “ghettos” being built.

She also criticised the sustainable credentials of a plastic slide in the children’s play-area.

She said:

“As a council that says we want to get rid of single-use plastic within two years, that slide has to be metal. We’re not addressing the issues that are paramount to our world and looking at sustainability.”

However, HBC housing officer John Worthington reminded committee members that they were not there to “look at the site afresh” and planning permission has already been granted for the majority of the site.

Committee members voted in favour of the motion to defer and recommend for approval to the chief planner by six votes to five, with one abstention.

Ripon housing development refused

Harrogate councillors have refused a 38-home development in Ripon, citing concerns around the number of homes proposed and its impact on a nearby Grade 2 listed building.

Meeting virtually yesterday on Zoom and streamed live on YouTube, Harrogate Borough Council’s Planning Committee refused a full planning permission application from developer Newett Homes by a near-unanimous decision.

The site is designated for development within HBC’s Local Plan but was criticised for being almost double the suggested yield of 20.

Harrogate Borough Council’s Planning Committee meets on Zoom.

Mr James Mortimer, owner of the Grade 2 listed Prospect House, which stands around 30 metres away from the proposed development told the Committee that the homes would bring “substantial harm” to Prospect House.

He said:

“The development of this site fails to provide any unique public benefit and harms Prospect House a listed asset.”

However, Richard Mowatt, speaking on behalf of the developers, told the Committee that the development will have “environmental, societal and economic” benefits for the area.

Read more:

Cllr Pat Marsh objected to the plans calling it a “compromise” due to the density of the site. She also said the 15 affordable homes were not enough.

She said:

“Rather than reaching for quality, we’re saying, ‘that’s just acceptable’.”

She also criticised the plans for not being environmentally friendly.

She added:

“There’s nothing in here for zero-carbon and homes that produce their own electricity. I’m saddened by that as well.

Responding, HBC housing officer Kate Williams, said affordable housing targets in the Local Plan are not “prescriptive”. She also said in Ripon there’s more of a demand for more 2 and 3 bedroom housing for market.

Other objections raised at the Committee included worries over a sinkhole in the woodland to the east of the site.