What has happened to Knaresborough’s new £6 million primary school?

Concerns have been expressed about the lack of progress on a new £6 million primary school in Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire County Council unveiled plans in 2020 to open primary schools in Knaresborough and Northallerton “to serve housing growth”.

The school in Northallerton, where the council is based, is due to open in autumn this year.

But three-and-a-half years after the schemes were announced, no work has begun in Knaresborough. A second proposed opening date of September 2024 looks certain to be missed and no new deadline has been set.

The school, which would predominantly be for children in the new 1,000-plus homes at the Manse Farm and Highfield Farm developments, is supposed to cater for 210 pupils and have the capacity to expand its roster to 420. The plans also included a nursery.

After Knaresborough Town Council expressed frustration at the lack of progress last month, the Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council, which succeeded North Yorkshire County Council in April, why the project was taking so long and whether it would definitely still go ahead.

Amanda Newbold, the council’s assistant director for education and skills, said in a statement the local authority remained committed to the delivery of the project but will “will undertake regular reviews before it is able to confirm delivery”. She did not commit to a new deadline.

Ms Newbold’s full statement is:

“Development works have been postponed due to an overhead electric cable that runs across the land where the new school is due to be built. This is also delaying the developer to some degree.

“A sub-station needs to be built on the land and the cable diverted before the school site can be transferred from Taylor Wimpey to the council.

“The negotiations for the sub-station development are continuing and the parties involved have recently confirmed good progress on agreement of the legal terms. All of these matters need to be concluded before the site transfer of the school land can begin.

“We have no control over these issues, but we continue to put a great deal of effort into encouraging the third parties to resolve them.

“While this is disappointing, it does not change our commitment to the delivery of the project, and the application for the renewal of the planning permission for the new school will be submitted in the new year. As there would be for any project of this scale, the council will undertake regular reviews before it is able to confirm delivery of the school.”

Review needed before final commitment 

The town council’s agenda items for its December meeting includes details of separate correspondence with a council officer who said the cost of the school was likely to be around £6 million. He added that once the land was transferred “a review of the need of the project would be undertaken before a final commitment to proceed is made”.

The town council voted to accept a motion by Cllr Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough Castle, to invite Taylor Wimpey “to provide an update on the transfer of land at Manse Farm housing estate to North Yorkshire Council so a primary school can be built”.

Knaresborough Town Council’s December meeting at Knaresborough House. 

Cllr Walker said it was disappointing the school had not progressed and he hoped the meeting could help get things moving.

Kit Lacey, a Liberal Democrat who represents Scriven Park, said Meadowside Primary Academy was already at capacity due to new nearby housing developments.

Cllr David Goode, a Liberal Democrat who represents Eastfield, said there had been no progress on a community centre that had also been proposed for the town to mitigate for the impact of new housing developments.

A report to county councillors in September 2020 said the new primary schools in Knaresborough and Northallerton were necessary “to maintain school place sufficiency”, adding they were needed “primarily to serve housing growth”.

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New primary school in Knaresborough delayed until 2024

A new primary school catering for a rapid increase in housing in Knaresborough has been delayed, it was announced this morning.

North Yorkshire County Council is building the £5 million school to cater for families moving into the 600-home Manse Farm development on York Road and the 400-home development at nearby Highfield Farm.

It will provide 210 places for pupils, with the capacity to be expanded to 420.

The council said delays building the homes had impacted on the schedule for the school, which is now not due to open until September 2024.

It is the second time the opening has been delayed. It was initially planned for September 2022 but covid delayed it for 12 months.

The council said the housing-building delays meant pupil numbers were not rising as rapidly as expected .

Stuart Carlton, director for children and young people’s services at the council, said:

“While this is disappointing, it does not change our commitment to delivery of the school as soon as we are able. The current delay to housing delivery means that pupil numbers are not rising at the predicted rate.

“We will continue to monitor closely the availability of school places but our assessment of the current birth rate data is that a delay by one year will be manageable.”

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The Department for Education has appointed Elevate Multi Academy Trust to run the school.

Nigel Ashley, chief executive of the trust, said:

“We remain committed to the project and look forward to developing future educational excellence for new families who will be moving into the Manse Farm estate area.

“Our utmost priority is quality provision where we all can achieve together and we look forward to opening the doors to our new free school as soon as this is possible.”

The Thirsk-based trust, which was created in 2017, has 12 members schools in north and west Yorkshire, including three in Knaresborough.

They are Meadowside Academy, Aspin Park Academy and Knaresborough St John’s C of E Primary School.

More homes added to 600-home Manse Farm development in Knaresborough

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.”

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No loss of green space

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.

More homes set to be added to 600-home Knaresborough scheme

House builder Taylor Wimpey looks set to be granted permission to include another 23 properties in the 600-home Manse Farm development in Knaresborough.

A Harrogate Borough Council report recommends the council’s planning committee approves two variations to the original planning permission, which allowed 600 homes to be built.

The first variation is to increase the number of homes number by 23. The second variation is for the developer to change the road layout to its nearby 400-home Highfield Farm development, which is yet to be granted planning permission.

In total, over 1,000 homes could eventually be built to the east of Knaresborough off the A59.

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The council report recommends councillors approve the application to improve access between the Manse Farm and Highfield Farm developments.

It says:

“Without such a condition there is a risk that the links would not be provided, leaving the residents of the Highfield Farm development isolated from the proposed facilities on Manse Farm and forced to use the A59 as the sole point of access.”

Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council objected to the proposal, saying the development needed fewer homes rather than more.

It said:

“The original overall total 1,002 approved houses on the east side of Knaresborough, at the Manse Farm and the neighbouring Highfield Farm developments, was already excessive and inappropriate.

“Taking this total up to 1,027 is therefore not supported. Reductions in housing in these developments should be taking place, not increases, in order to make the developments a more rewarding living environment.”

The council’s planning committee will meet next Tuesday to consider the application.

Academy trust appointed to run new Knaresborough school

Elevate Multi Academy Trust has been appointed to run the new primary school that is being built at Manse Farm in Knaresborough.

The Thirsk-based trust, which was created in 2017, has 12 members schools in north and west Yorkshire, including three in Knaresborough.

They are Meadowside Academy, Aspin Park Academy and Knaresborough St John’s C of E Primary School.

The £5 million school will cater for families moving into the 600-home Manse Farm development on York Road, as well as the wider Knaresborough area.

It is being funded by North Yorkshire County Council, using government grants, and a £2 million contribution from the developer, Linden Homes in conjunction with Taylor Wimpey UK.

The school is set to open in September 2023 after the county council delayed its original planned opening date of September 2022 due to covid slowing construction work.

It will provide 210 places for pupils, with the capacity to be expanded to 420 pupils if necessary.

Nigel Ashley, chief executive of Elevate Multi Academy Trust, said:

“On behalf of Elevate and my team, I am delighted that we have been awarded such a prestigious honour to develop future educational excellence for new families who will be moving into the Manse Farm Estate area.

“We already have strong presence in the Knaresborough area, where we are familiar with the demographics and needs of the local community.

“Our utmost priority is quality provision where we all can achieve together and we look forward to opening the doors to our new, free school in September 2023.”

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The school will be a state-funded academy, in line with Department for Education guidance.

It was granted planning permission in June 2020.

Patrick Mulligan, the council’s member for education and schools, said it had been a “very competitive tender process”, adding:

“The Harrogate Local Plan has identified that in the medium to long term, more than 1,000 new properties will be built in Knaresborough and a new school will be needed over the coming years to meet demand.”