Developer bids to make Knox Lane housing site fully affordableTaxpayers foot six-figure bill to housebuilder over failed Harrogate planning inquiry‘We are not here as experts’: Residents begin fight at Knox Lane planning inquiryResidents prepare to make last stand in Knox Lane housing sagaDeveloper to seek costs over Knox Lane housing appeal

A developer behind an appeal to build 53 homes on Knox Lane in Harrogate will seek costs from North Yorkshire Council.

Councillors on the authority’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee rejected plans for the homes off the street in the Bilton area in September last year.

Teesside developer Jomast has appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate after it said the plans were recommended for approval by council officers on four separate occasions.

A public inquiry into the matter is due to be held on July 23 and is expected to last for five days. A venue is yet to be confirmed.

The Planning Inspectorate will then make a decision at a later date.

Knox Lane

Meanwhile, the developer has applied to be awarded costs as part of its appeal.

In documents submitted to the government, Patrick Stone, of planning agent Spawforths which is representing Jomast, said the authority “demonstrated unreasonable behaviour” during the planning process.

He said:

“The council acted unreasonably in overturning the professional judgement of the case officer that the application was assessed to be in line with local and national policies and recommended for approval.”

The move means the council could face high costs if it loses on appeal.

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The council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area planning committee rejected the application in September 2023.

A 45-page report by council case officer Andy Hough before the meeting said the application was “considered to now be in compliance with development plan policy” and should be approved.

But councillors cited concerns about land contamination and the lack of a travel plan to go against Mr Hough’s recommendation. The site is alongside a narrow cul-de-sac and not close to a bus route.

Cllr Paul Haslam, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, spoke on behalf of residents at the meeting. He said:

“There have been over 500 objections to this application from residents. Not because they are ‘nimbys’, but because they believe the council is making a mistake.”

Developer appeals decision to refuse 53 homes in Harrogate

A property developer has launched an appeal after its bid to build 53 homes in Harrogate was refused.

Councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee rejected plans for the homes off Knox Lane in the Bilton area in September last year.

Now Teesside developer Jomast has appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which means the council faces a potentially costly legal battle.

Jomast’s appeal form indicates it has opted for an inquiry rather than a hearing or written representations.

It expects the inquiry to last four days and to call witnesses in the fields of planning, highways, design, landscape and ecology

The document says the 3.2-hectare site is owned by the Greenbank family near Boroughbridge.

The council must now decide whether to contest the appeal.

It is the latest round in the long running campaign to build homes off Knox Lane, which has been fiercely resisted by local people.

The site earmarked for houses.

A 45-page report  by council case officer Andy Hough before last September’s planning meeting said the application was “considered to now be in compliance with development plan policy” and should be approved.

But councillors cited concerns about land contamination and the lack of a travel plan to go against Mr Hough’s recommendation. The site is alongside a narrow cul-de-sac and not close to a bus route.

Cllr Paul Haslam, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, spoke on behalf of residents at the meeting. He said:

“There have been over 500 objections to this application from residents. Not because they are ‘nimbys’, but because they believe the council is making a mistake.”

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Knox Lane housing refusal has ‘strengthened community spirit’

Residents on Knox Lane in Bilton have said community spirit has been “strengthened” after a plan to build 53-homes in the area was rejected.

The proposal, which was tabled by north east developer Jomast, was refused by councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee yesterday.

It followed concerns about land contamination and the lack of a travel plan for the site, which is alongside a narrow road at the edge of Bilton and not close to a bus route.

The current road serving the site.

The refusal of the plan has been welcomed by residents in the area.

Sue Wrightson, of Keep Knox Natural campaign group, said local people had worked hard to make the council listen to their concerns.

She said:

“Local residents have worked very hard over the last three years to ensure that council officers were aware of the many valid reasons why this development is entirely inappropriate. 

“We have struggled to make them listen and we are very grateful to those planning committee members who have supported our case. 

“Its been a learning curve as far as planning regulations are concerned but we have enjoyed the collaboration of several local experts.

“This whole episode has really strengthened local community spirit and resolve.”

Knox Lane in Harrogate.

Councillors questioned the plans at a lengthy meeting at Harrogate’s Civic Centre yesterday.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, spoke on behalf of residents at the meeting. He said:

“There have been over 500 objections to this application from residents. Not because they are ‘nimbys’, but because they believe the council is making a mistake.”

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Liberal Democrats Cllr Chris Aldred and Cllr Hannah Gostlow raised concern that no travel plan had been submitted as part of the application.

Cllr Aldred said “insufficient information” was submitted in regards to a travel plan for councillors to make a decision.

Prior to the meeting, a report by council case officer Andy Hough said the plan was “considered to now be in compliance with development plan policy” and should be approved.

It added that the reasons for deferral at the last meeting would “not form reasonable reasons for refusal”, which indicated Jormast might successfully appeal the decision.

The Stray Ferret has approached Jomast to ask whether it is considering an appeal but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Harrogate resident claims council did not properly minute planning meeting

A resident who objects to 53 homes being built on Knox Lane in Bilton has complained to the council about its minute taking at meetings which she says falls “well below” the standards expected for public bodies.

At North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee this week, Adele Lawrie-Wilson addressed councillors about the minutes produced following a meeting on May 31 regarding the controversial housing scheme by developers Jomast.

Planning committee meetings are usually streamed live on YouTube. But technical difficulties on the day meant the only way to watch proceedings was in the council chamber.

Ms Lawrie-Wilson said residents who were unable to attend could not get an accurate picture of what was discussed due to “missing information” and “inaccuracies” in the minutes, which were later published on the council’s website. 

She said:

“Given the livestream wasn’t available and no alternative recording was made, I would have expected more detailed minutes taken.

“There was no recording of what Cllr Haslam spoke about or what several residents covered in their speeches. It also omitted any content of the fairly tense debate.”

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Ms Lawrie-Wilson also said the minutes recorded the council’s planning officer Nick Turpin saying no houses were proposed in the Special Landscape Area, which is incorrect.

She added:

“I urge that the minutes are expanded to give a more accurate recording of the meeting that took place.”

Mr Turpin responded to the claims and said it is not in the council’s practice to produce verbatim minutes of meetings. 

He said:

“They accurately reflected the decision taken and reflect good practice. The published minutes meet all legal requirements and follow the council’s agreed standards.”

However, Mr Turpin conceded that his comment about the SLA was inaccurate and would be changed.

The Knox Lane plans will go before the council’s planning committee again at a later date.

Council investigates planning breach claims at 53-home Harrogate site

North Yorkshire Council is investigating an alleged breach of planning in a Harrogate field where 53 homes could be built.

North-east property developer Jomast has applied to build the homes off Knox Lane in Bilton. Councillors deferred the scheme for a third time this month amid concerns about land contamination.

Since then, the council has opened a probe into potential damage to trees within the tree preservation order.

The Stray Ferret has seen a letter from a council planning enforcement officer to a resident saying it is investigating and will provide a further update within 28 days.

When we approached the council about it, assistant director for planning Trevor Watson said:

“We can confirm that we are currently investigating a possible breach of planning regulations at that location.

“While that investigation is ongoing we will not be commenting further.”

The Knox scheme has received more than 300 objections amid concerns about its impact on a quiet corner of Bilton.

Sue Wrightson, of the Keep Knox Natural campaign group, which opposes the development, claimed field activity undertaken at the site this month did not conform with council guidelines on contaminated land.

Photos of the site

Dr Damian Bowen a toxicologist and local resident who has submitted a review of Jomast’s phase two contamination report, alleged the company had not addressed concerns raised about the reliability of its data.

In response to a request for comment on the council investigation, Stephen Courcier, planning consultant for the application at Jomast, said:

“We can confirm that the further site investigative works to the railway embankment took place over Thursday and Friday of last week.

“These further investigative works were specifically requested by the local planning authority.”

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Concerns over ‘undemocratic’ planning meeting on Knox Lane houses

Questions have been raised over whether the planning process is democratic after a controversial housing application in Harrogate was deferred for a third time.

The 53-home proposal for Knox Lane was discussed at a planning committee meeting at the end of May, but councillors were told this week that residents were unhappy about the way it had been conducted.

The plans were recommended for approval, but councillors did not follow planning officers’ advice.

Instead they voted to defer it again because the developer, Jomast, had not carried out the land contamination report requested at the last meeting.

This week, nearby resident Adele Laura Wilson asked North Yorkshire Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee why the report had been brought to the planning committee again by officers when the requested information was still not available.

She also said a motion was put forward at the meeting to reject the application, but officers advised them they needed to have planning reasons for turning the plans down otherwise the decision would be overturned at appeal, with costs to the council.

Ms Wilson added:

“That motion was not allowed to be voted on. This surely is in contravention of the democratic process.”

She also said incorrect information was given to the committee about the site, which an officer said was only partially in a special landscape area (SLA). The whole site was in fact part of the SLA, Ms Wilson said, but there was no opportunity for this to be corrected during the planning meeting.

She said:

“I would ask this committee to consider if the current planning committee is being given the powers to truly consider and question planning applications or are they redundant? And are planning applications being decided by just the planning officers and the solicitors?”

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Resident Alison Hayward said she was addressing Thursday’s area constituency committee on behalf of residents in Knox and Bilton, who were “extremely disappointed and outraged” by the situation.

Ms Hayward said:

“We believe that it was unconstitutional and contrary to the principles of fair representation of the community.

“Although we are disappointed in the result [of the vote to defer the application again], this statement is relating to the process of the meeting rather than that result.

“We ask this constituency meeting to reflect on the failures and the conduct of the planning meeting and consider how to correct the injustice to the local community and democracy.”

She said the meeting had been held during the half-term holidays, when fewer local people were available to attend.

Ms Hayward also raised concerns about the fact the planning meeting had not been streamed live, as it would usually be, because of “technical problems” on the day. She said this meant there was no “proper record” of the meeting, as the minutes did not record everything discussed.

In a statement read by clerk Mark Codman, NYC’s legal, planning and democratic services departments responded:

“The council does apologise for the lack of a live stream. The issue was only discovered on the morning of the meeting and it couldn’t be resolved.”

The statement said there was no legal requirement for a meeting to be recorded and minutes were never verbatim. Live streaming was only introduced in Harrogate during the covid pandemic, and was not used for all meetings across North Yorkshire.

The statement also said:

“It was made clear to members of the committee that they were free to vote in whichever way they wanted, but were advised of the implications of their choosing to do so on the basis of inadequate material planning reasons.”