Councillors have refused a plan to build four environmentally-friendly homes at Flaxby, near Knaresborough.
It follows two larger applications that were refused by the defunct Harrogate Borough Council in 2021 and 2022, with those decisions upheld on appeal.
The plots on York Road were identified for people who want to build their homes. According to documents submitted by developer Ben Holmes from Holmes Planning Ltd, utility bills would have been reduced to “as close to zero as possible”.
This would be achieved through solar panels on the roofs and air-source heat pumps instead of gas boilers.
The homes would be designed according to Passivhaus principles, which is 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 developer also said the homes would adopt rainwater harvesting technology to reduce water consumption.
North Yorkshire Council has a waiting list of people wanting to build their own homes in the county and the developer said the scheme would help meet a demand.
The proposed site at Flaxby.
Councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s Selby and Ainsty planning committee met yesterday at Selby Civic Centre to consider the latest application.
The plans received several objections from villagers in Flaxby.
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Caroline Greenhalgh, a councillor on Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council, told the committee she believed the site was unsuitable for development.
She added:
“There’s no infrastructure, services or adequate public transport.”
Mr Holmes addressed councillors and said the homes would be built to an “incredibly high standard”.
He said:
“These are going to be extremely green properties. It’s not a perfect site, I accept that, but it’s a good site.
“People will use their cars to get there however does that outweigh the benefits the site will bring? I say no it doesn’t.
“I firmly believe if you ask the public what they think, the majority would support this application.”
Ahead of the meeting, the plans were recommended for refusal in an officer report due to harm to the countryside and the loss of agricultural land.
Councillors ended up backing the recommendation and unanimously voted to refuse the plans.
Mark Crane, the Conservative councillor for Brayton and Barlow, said:
Flaxby developer to push ahead with reduced eco-home plan“I strongly support self-build however it’s clear as clear can be that this is not the site for it. Seldom have I seen so many reasons for refusal.”
A developer campaigning for more self-build housing sites in the Harrogate district has vowed to re-submit an application to build low-carbon eco-homes at Flaxby.
Ben Holmes first applied in 2020 for planning permission to build nine homes around the edge of the site on the southern approach to the village, all with solar panels and air-source heat-pumps, and communal facilities in the middle.
But the government’s Planning Inspectorate turned down the application, saying the plans’ nuclear format did not conform to the village’s traditional linear pattern. It also cited a lack of housing density; it wanted more homes to the be built on the site.
Mr Holmes, who is originally from Birstwith, then applied to build 20 homes, but withdrew the application after conversations with residents who felt the density was too high. He also applied to create a nature reserve in an adjoining paddock, to be gifted to the village, but this too was refused by planners.
His latest application was for five homes following the line of the road, so as to fit in with the village’s linear format, but that too has been rejected by a planning inspector, who had concerns about the effects on the landscape and the future residents’ over-reliance on cars to get to amenities.
Mr Holmes now plans to submit an application for just two large, self-build homes, and to gift the remainder of the site to the village as a nature reserve or playground, or for any use the villagers feel they need. He said:
“It’s just incredible that the council should put so many barriers in the way of high-quality, low-carbon homes like these.
“We should be encouraging people to design and build their own homes – that’s what they do on the continent. Instead, we rely on the Big 5 housebuilders to provide our houses, as cheaply as possible.”
All the homes Mr Holmes has applied to build would conform to Passivhaus standards.
Pioneered in Germany, Passivhaus homes are built to be extremely energy-efficient, with heating and lighting costs typically under £100 a year. Build costs tend to be 10-20% more than for conventional homes, but that initial outlay is recouped within a few years of construction through savings on energy bills.
The latest application will be for just two large homes at the Flaxby site.
Despite Mr Holmes’ repeated efforts to gain permission to develop the site, none of his applications were assessed by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee because they were rejected by planning staff. He said:
“What we really need is to get this scheme in front of the planning committee. They’re elected and can better represent people’s views.
“I’ve been badgering the council’s planning department for years to get it before the planning committee, but I think they’re afraid it will go through and open the floodgates to loads more applications on the edges of settlements. That’s not part of their Local Plan, and they wouldn’t have control over these developments.
“Hopefully, the new [North Yorkshire] council will be more amenable and more supportive of this kind of development. It’s very much needed.”
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Eco-development could be catalyst for green housing in Harrogate district
There are hopes nine ‘eco-homes’ that could be built near Knaresborough will be a catalyst for greener housebuilding in the Harrogate district.
Ben Holmes, from Birstwith, has submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council for the cutting-edge development, which would be built to strict environmental standards and include solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation.
There would even be a communal vegetable garden to reduce the need to drive to shops.
A different model
Mr Holmes’ proposed scheme for York Road in Flaxby would be a community self-build development, which is a different model of housebuilding from what is usually seen.
If he is granted planning permission, he will install infrastructure, such as paths, water, drainage and a communal area, on the site.
He will then sell each of the nine plots to people who want to build their own home. The buyers then hire an architect and builder and design a home to suit their family’s needs.
Mr Holmes’ said this allowed for a customisable approach rather than buying identikit cookie-cutter homes on a large estate.
He said:
“You see these houses and they’ve all got their gas boilers. It is wrong way to build houses. Your big developers get as many homes on as possible and there is a lack of variation and creativity. It is soulless.
“There is a different way of building houses.”
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Lower energy bills
Harrogate Borough Council has a register of about 200 people who want to build their own home. Mr Holmes said there is an appetite in the district who people who want to have more of a say in how their home is built.
Anyone buying a plot to build their home will have to abide by a framework of environmental rules.
This includes Passivhaus certification and the Home Quality Mark from BRE.
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.
There is only a handful of Passivhaus homes in the district, including the Larners’ house on Bogs Lane in Harrogate.
Mr Holmes also said the houses may be factory-built, bypassing much of the polluting construction process that comes with traditional bricks and mortar homes.
He added:
Green Shoots: Harrogate’s most environmentally-friendly house?“Hopefully this site will act as a catalyst for the area to build more Passivhaus. It’s a high bar to get to that standard.”
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.”