Three new council houses built on the site of former garages in Ripon are now being occupied by local families, the council has announced.

North Yorkshire Council said the homes, in Holmefield Road, have been allocated to people on the waiting list for houses.

They each have two or three bedrooms and feature air source heat pumps, solar panels and triple glazing, producing between 0.2 and 0.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year compared with the six tonnes produced by an average home.

Claire Edwards, who will move into one of the houses with partner Sharon this weekend, has been a council tenant for 32 years. She said:

“This is the first time I have moved into a brand new house and I can’t wait to get there. I am literally moving round the corner, but we are downsizing, which gives someone else a chance to be rehoused, too. They are lovely homes – I feel very lucky.”

The houses are the latest to be developed in a scheme which uses council-owned land used to create new homes, which are then let as social housing.

Almost 60 homes across Harrogate and Craven have been developed through the scheme in the last five years using £2.3 million of government funding. A further nine homes are being developed in the Harrogate district: seven in Harrogate and two in Sharow.

The three Ripon homes are the first to be occupied since North Yorkshire Council took responsibility for housing when Harrogate Borough Council, which had originally granted planning permission, was abolished at the end of March.

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North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said:

“These are the first new social rented affordable homes delivered by North Yorkshire Council and are part of an on-going programme to make a big difference to the lives and well-being of local families.

“Across the county there are plots of unused land – particularly garages that are too small to be used for cars and end up overgrown, derelict and a haven for anti-social behaviour. Many of these areas would never be touched by developers as they can be complicated to bring forward.

“It is a pioneering initiative and just one of the ways we can create much-needed affordable homes in the county – we also work with housing associations and through our commercial arm, Brierley Homes.”

Matthew Wright, from the government’s housing agency Homes England, added:

“Despite the current challenges affecting the country, accelerating housebuilding remains our number one priority.

“We are committed to supporting North Yorkshire Council’s ambitions to build new homes and our investment through affordable housing grant allows us to do that.

“We’re delighted that this funding will enable North Yorkshire Council to deliver much-needed new homes in Ripon and other parts of North Yorkshire.”

Council officers have recommended a controversial plan to build 53 homes off Knox Lane in Harrogate is approved next week.

North-east property developer Jomast‘s planning application for the Bilton area was deferred for a second time in February this year.

At the time, councillors requested new reports and information about ground contamination and overhead power lines.

However, a report published today in advance of the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee meeting on May 31 has recommended the plans are approved subject to conditions.

Among the conditions is that Jomast would be required to pay £64,000 for healthcare, £140,000 for education and £60,000 for open spaces in the form of a section 106 agreement to compensate for the impact of development on local infrastructure.

The homes would be built off Knox Lane.

The application in the quiet Knox area has proved controversial with residents.

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Campaign group Keep Knox Natural has previously called on the council to remove the parcel of land from the Harrogate District Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

Cllr Robert Windass, a member of the council’s planning committee, previously called for an independent survey into contamination into the site.

Cllr Windass raised concern that a previous survey into the site was paid for by the developer and requested that an independent report was drawn up.

He told a committee in February:

“I will not vote for this scheme until I know that that land is safe.”

Councillors will vote on Wednesday next week whether to accept case officer Andy Hough’s recommendation to proceed with the scheme.

Planning permission to convert a Bishop Monkton pub to residential use has finally been granted on appeal – just days after one of the applicants died. 

Landlords Trevor and Carol Pawson had spent three years trying to get permission to create five new homes from the Lamb & Flag Inn, but Mr Pawson died on March 25. The couple’s appeal was approved on April 5, the day before his funeral. 

Mrs Pawson told The Stray Ferret she intended to press ahead with development work, but did not yet know when it might start. She said:  

“We won, so I’ll carry on, but for the time being I’m just taking one day at a time.”

Mr and Ms Pawson bought the Lamb & Flag Inn 30 years ago and ran it as a village pub until declining trade and ill-health forced them to close it permanently at the start of the covid pandemic in 2020. 

In the autumn of that year, they applied for planning permission to create five new dwellings – two from the conversion of the pub, one from the conversion of some holiday lets in an outbuilding, and two to be built in the pub car-park.  

They withdrew that application a few months later, but reapplied in April 2021, only to be turned down. Harrogate Borough Council planning officers refused the application on the grounds that “insufficient marketing” had been done to demonstrate that the pub could not be used for community use. 

The Pawsons appealed, providing evidence of marketing, leading planning officer Paul Cooper to conclude that there was “no compelling evidence that operation of the facility would be financially viable”. 

In his decision, Mr Cooper added: 

“The proposed dwellings would have a neutral effect on the conservation area and not […] be harmful by their design or impact on the landscape or settlement as a whole.” 

The Lamb & Flag dates back at least to the 1830s and was at one time one of seven pubs in the Bishop Monkton parish. Only one now remains – the Masons Arms, which still opens five days a week. 

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Plans have been submitted to turn an agricultural building in Coneythorpe into five two-bedroom homes.

The proposals for Spring Bank Farm on Shortsill Lane would include creating a “physical buffer” between the barn and the surrounding agricultural land and buildings.

The barn, currently used for storage, is made from a steel frame and block work. The application said the conversion would have vertical cedar wood cladding and aluminium window frames.

The external block work base would be retained, the application said, “ensuring the building retains its utilitarian, agricultural aesthetic as constructed and does not introduce alien or inappropriate elements to its rural surroundings”.

The barn would be converted to a terrace of five homes. Each would have an open plan living, dining and kitchen space on the ground floor, along with a bedroom and bathroom.

Each first floor would include a bedroom with en suite and dressing area, as well as a mezzanine overlooking the living area below.

The application said:

“The site benefits from an established [public right of way] which crosses the farm before connecting to Coneythorpe, approximately [500 metres] to the north of the subject building.

“The footway provides future residents with pedestrian access to the local public transport network with connections from Coneythorpe to Knaresborough, Harrogate, Boroughbridge and the surrounding villages and smaller towns.”

The plans have been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, but will be decided by North Yorkshire Council after it comes into effect next Saturday.

To view or comment on the application, visit the planning pages of the Harrogate Borough Council website and use reference 23/00859/PBR.

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Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Demand for new homes has driven a sales rise of more than 50% in the last year for a Harrogate estate agency.

Linley and Simpson is now planning to expand its land and new homes department to cover the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber from its 23 offices.

The company achieved a record-breaking £75m of new home sales in just one year, representing two in three of its overall sales.

David Waddington, the agency’s director of land and new homes, said:

“Having grown into the largest land and new homes agent in the area, we now have a strong launch pad for taking our services to house builders in new territories.

“Developers can draw upon our team’s 130 collective years’ sales and marketing expertise in this sector, as well as take advantage of an aligned and connected branch network, which is set to expand further in 2022 and beyond.

“It will also enable us to consolidate our position as the number one go-to agent on the property portals for land and new home stock.”

The company attributes growth in the sector to high demand following the covid pandemic, especially for family homes in rural areas. Rising energy bills are also prompting people to seek more efficient homes.

Demand continues to be high, with 306 new homes sold in the last year, up from 211 in the previous 12 months. The average price of a new home has also risen from £354,714 to £425,834 in the same period.

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Senior carer rewarded for decade of service

A care home in Boroughbridge has recognised the long service of one of its senior carers.

Leoni Senior started as a carer at Boroughbridge Manor in 2012 before working her way up to a senior role.

Her 10 years’ service with the firm were marked with a gift of flowers and jewellery.

Avril Bowyer, deputy general manager of Boroughbridge Manor, said:

“We’re delighted to be celebrating 10 years of loyal service with Leoni. She has demonstrated her dedication and loyalty to this home and its residents year after year.

“I speak for all of us here at Boroughbridge Manor when I say that I’m looking forward to many more years of working with Leoni.”

Jane McFarlane, employee services director at Barchester, which runs the home, added:

“I’m always pleased to hear stories about the long service of Barchester staff and am delighted Leoni has achieved this milestone.

“It is dedication like this that ensures our residents are provided with a happy place to live.”

Ripon City Council has called for a new consultation on plans to build 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks after a transport assessment was belatedly published.

Harrogate Borough Council’s 30-day consultation on the Homes England scheme is due to close on February 17.

But Ripon City Council agreed this week to urgently contact Harrogate Borough Council, asking it to ‘reset the clock’ to give local residents more time to make their views known.

City council leader Andrew Williams, received unanimous support from fellow councillors after he said:

“Important information, most notably the transport assessment executive summary, was added to the Harrogate Borough Council planning portal after the consultation period began — and anybody who commented on the outline planning application prior to February 3 would not have seen the crucial transport document.”

In April, the city council called for the Clotherholme development to be scaled back to 800 homes because of concerns about the impact of more traffic on Ripon’s road network.

At Monday’s full city council meeting, Cllr Williams said:

“This is the biggest single development in Ripon’s history and while we welcome, in principle, new homes for the city, it is clear that we don’t have the roads infrastructure to support this many, which will come on top of the 390 homes at West Lane and other schemes.

“The addition of a further 1,300 homes will have a negative impact across Ripon.

“We’re asking to reset the clock, so that people have the opportunity to read the documents on the planning portal.”

David Walpole, a consultant commissioned by the city council to report on the traffic implications of Clotherholme scheme, has been asked by councillors to ‘object in the strongest possible terms’.

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The transport assessment in support of the Homes England development says:

“The proposed mitigation measures for the Ripon Barracks site include a wide range of improvements not just in the vicinity of the development itself, but also throughout the western side of the city and into the city centre itself.

“These measures include; the implementation of pedestrian and cyclist improvements by implementing mitigation measures such as traffic calming on Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road; the introduction of a one way system involving Kirkby Road, College Road and Trinity Lane to accommodate on road cycling while maintaining car parking along College Road; the provision of a gateway junction including segregated cycling facilities at the primary Kirkby Road access to the site; junction mitigation measures to alleviate traffic congestion at key city centre junctions and provide enhanced pedestrian crossing facilities; measures to prevent rat running; and proposed contributions to public transport bus services.

“As a consequence of the mitigation measures identified to support the proposed development (it) will meet the requirements of the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) ensuring there will be no unacceptable impact on highway safety or severe cumulative impacts and that sustainable modes of transport will be pro-actively prioritised both to and from the development and across the west of Ripon city centre.”

Harrogate Borough Council officers will meet residents groups and parish councils today to discuss the long awaited West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.

The plan describes the infrastructure requirements associated with up to 4,000 new homes due to be built in the western arc of Harrogate.

A draft version of the delayed plan has now been published and circulated by the council to groups including Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association, North Rigton Parish Council, Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council and Zero Carbon Harrogate. The Stray Ferret has also been sent the document.

At over 100 pages long, the document paints a broad brush vision of how the area will be transformed by new housing.

It includes proposals for two new primary schools and a possible new GP surgery — which have been previously announced.

Howard West, chair of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret the plan lacked detail on addressing traffic and congestion.

He added:

“The parameters plan draft is in nice developer-speak but there’s no answer to the problems arising from building 4,000 homes around Harrogate’s western arc.”

Hapara and Zero Carbon Harrogate both said they would comment on the plan after today’s meeting.

Hapara previously said it was unhappy about the level of consultation offered to residents by the council during the process.

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Beset by delays

The council initially said the parameters plan would be published in October 2020. But it was delayed until March 2021, then September 2021.

The draft plan is still to be ratified by the council.

A council spokesperson said:

“The development of west Harrogate provides an exciting opportunity to deliver quality place-making, a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“Once approved, the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan will create clear goals and objectives by identifying what infrastructure is required. For example, first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities.

“A number of suggestions have already helped shaped the WHPP and I’d like to thank those local residents groups and parish councils for their valuable feedback.”

Property Gold is a monthly column written by independent property consultant, Alex Goldstein. With more than 17 years’ experience, Alex helps his clients to buy and sell residential property in some of the most desirable locations in Yorkshire and beyond.

Only Fools and Horses – the ultimate British sitcom following the trials and tribulations of Del Boy and his brother Rodney on their mission to get rich. However, when it comes to PLC new homes, it would seem that the large-scale developers are the ones beating the Trotters at the sales game.

I am continually staggered by the number of people who are queuing up to buy one of these homes, in a case of Boycie one-upmanship. Yet are the buying public’s memories so short like Trigger’s, that they forget the dreadful events in 2017 at Grenfell Tower where 72 people died?

What then unfolded was the cladding scandal, which has entrapped thousands of people and is still ongoing with no clear end in sight. It has also just come to light, that successive governments concealed the extent of fire safety risks to buildings going back to 1997. So why would a buyer think it a sensible choice of home or investment, if governments are also hiding information from you?

One then overlays countless misdemeanours which have been picked up in the press about the PLC developers, ranging from the controversial sale of freeholds to equity funds, escalating ground rents, to lack of insulation and pressurised selling tactics. Only the other day did London Fire Brigade warn an inquiry that developers were ‘gaming the system’ by deliberately designing blocks to be just shy of the threshold where more intensive fire safety systems were required.

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On the ground, these developments are often edge of town schemes with negligible associated infrastructure. When was the last time you saw a new GP surgery or school being built, or upgraded roads get underway? More interestingly, these schemes are actually making central town living even more expensive. Afterall, who wishes to use their car to get into a town they already live in? They therefore help underpin more centrally located homes, making it more difficult for younger generations to move up the ladder and are eroding the very integrity of our towns.

If you wish to buy a new build home, purchase from a small to mid-sized developer who has their name above the door and who acknowledges that building regulation standards are the basic requirement and not the pinnacle.

Our new homes system is broken and in light of recent news, arguably rotten to the core. My concern is that we have had decades of going down the wrong path, that we are never going to be able to find our way back out again.

The bottom line is, if you are thinking of buying a PLC new build – Only Fools would do so, you plonker Rodney!

If you have any comments or questions for Alex, please feel free to contact him at alex@alexgoldstein.co.uk

Owners of a historic Ripon site, which fell into a state of disrepair, have apologised to neighbours as the area is prepared for residential redevelopment.

Leeds-based Graycliffe Homes bought the former Girls’ High School Old Lecture Building, on College Road, as a development opportunity ten years ago.

Over the past decade, the two storey red brick Edwardian building has had windows broken and slates stolen while its grounds became overgrown.

Graycliffe’s managing director, Wayne Butterfield, who has been involved in a major tidy up of the area, told the Stray Ferret:

“It has become something of an eyesore and for that I would like to apologise to our neighbours.

“The new homes development here will see a transformation, that I hope is to the liking of people who live nearby.”

Planning permission was granted by Harrogate Borough Council for the former high school to be refurbished and converted to create eight townhouses.

An architect’s drawing showing how the refurbished building will look. Picture: Graycliffe Homes

There will also be five new-build homes on the site, which will be landscaped, with green spaces retained.

Graycliffe will not carry out the conversion and new build, but it is in discussions with developers who will carry forward the scheme.

Christopher Hughes, chair of Ripon Civic Society, welcomed the activity on site.

He said:

“This is an historically important building dating back to 1908 and we are pleased to see that is is being retained for conversion within the overall redevelopment plans.

“The society has taken a great interest in this site over the years and, at long last and many hold ups and frustrations, we are pleased to see it being tidied up in readiness for disposal to a developer, who will convert the former school building and carry out the other works.”

The building as it currently looks

The former school provided secondary education for girls, until its amalgamation with Ripon Grammar School in the early 1960’s.

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Afterwards, the building was used as part of the Ripon Teacher Training College and later the College of Ripon & York St John.

Following the closure of the training college, it was let to Leeds Metropolitan University whose lease on the building ended in 2012.