Plan for 80-bed care home on Ripon paint factory siteA new care home could be built in the heart of Ripon if plans are given the go-ahead.
The 80-bed facility has been proposed for the site of the T&R Williamson business park on Stonebridgegate.
The outline plans for a three-storey building extend to more than 4,700m sq, replacing the current 1,294m sq paint factory.
In supporting documents submitted with the proposal, applicant Miller Property Group said:
“The application is pursued on a speculative basis, though interest has been expressed for the future occupation of the development by care home operators.”
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As well as the 80 bedrooms, the outline plans including lounge and dining space on each floor, as well as a cinema, a library and activity rooms.
The proposal includes retaining the existing 28 parking spaces and creating two disability spaces, as well as one ambulance bay.
However, even if the plans are approved, the exact details would need to be confirmed with a full planning application in future.
In supporting information, the applicant said:
“Overall, the application scheme will enable the delivery of a high-quality care home on the site. The development will improve the appearance of the site and will provide a use which is much more in-keeping with the residential character of the area.”
A spokesperson for T&R Williamson said:
“As previously reported, T&R Williamson Paints, established 1775, merged with sister company Thomas Howse Industrial Coatings, established 1903, over two years ago.
“Since then, there has been a planned and phased programme to fully integrate both businesses at the West Midlands headquarters of Thomas Howse.
“This has enabled us to maximise production facilities and ready ourselves for the next stage of our evolution.
“T&R Williamson retains its renowned branding, as well as the privilege of The Royal Warrant awarded in 2011 in recognition of its specialist paints, varnishes and lacquers supplied to The Royal Household.
“The merger represents an exciting new era for both companies, which pool more than 360 years of expertise in the paint and coatings industry.
“It has been a natural progression to build on the existing synergies of both companies and blend together the market-leading position, reputation, skill base and aspiration that they both share.
“The merger has also signalled a major programme of significant investment in the latest technology in production machinery. This is helping us to improve efficiency, striving us forward on our green aspirations reducing energy consumption and production waste, as well as building a broader product range.”
To view or comment on the application, visit the Harrogate Borough Council planning website and use reference 22/02831/OUTMAJ.
Plans submitted for three yurts in Kirkby Malzeard fieldA new holiday site could be created in Kirkby Malzeard if planning permission is granted for three yurts in an agricultural field.
An application has been submitted by Frederick Atkinson to create the yurts, each on raised decking and with its own hot tub along with a ‘services area’ of toilet, sink and shower in a wooden hut.
The site of the proposed yurts is on Back Lane North, to the west of Pipistrelle Barn, in a field previously used for grazing sheep. The application showed there would be a package treatment plant created, as well as a walkway alongside the barn to a parking area at its east.
It added:
“The subject proposals would see the creation of a small family-run business named ‘Yurts @ Pipistrelle Barn’.
“It is envisaged that the site will provide a peaceful, low impact and eco-friendly retreat, nestled on the edge of a well serviced Yorkshire village, providing the perfect base for future guests to enjoy the best of North Yorkshire.
“The proposed holiday site will generate four full-time jobs, comprising an administration role to include welcoming and hosting, a site maintenance role to include groundskeeping and waste management, an IT support role to include website creation, maintenance and booking management, and a cleaning role.
“Pipistrelle Barn, directly adjacent the application area, will provide the administration hub for the business and allow for natural surveillance of the site. Guests will arrive on-site and check in at the barn, where they will then be shown to the yurts on foot.”
Each yurt would be made from a wooden latticework frame with natural materials used as insulation and covered by canvas. Inside would feature a log-burning stove and a bed, with space for tables and chairs on the decking outside.
The proposed site layout
In supporting documents, the applicant said the development would “help support the economic and social well-being of the village and surrounding settlements”. The documents referred to using local businesses including Wards Logs, Steph Bennington Cleaners, Sam Watson Fencing and Highside Butchers.
A previous application for three yurts without hot tubs on the site was made in December 2021 but withdrawn in April. It had proposed creating a new parking area in the south-west corner of the site.
Ten comments were received from members of the public, with nine objecting to the plans and none supporting them. However, the parish council did not raise any objection.
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In response to the current application, a report from Harrogate Borough Council’s environmental health officer Mary Jones said:
“The main issue with this proposal compared to the application commented on February 2022 is the addition of hot tubs.
“Normal use of the yurts should not cause an issue as there would be a certain amount of self-regulation on site. I have concerns that if a party hire the yurts especially all three the noise that could be produced would cause a nuisance to local residents particularly if it was accompanied by amplified music.
“It would be worth considering a booking form precluding amplified music at the hot tubs and also avoiding renting the yurts to parties such as stag and hen parties.”
One comment has already been received from a member of the public, Jamie Firth. He said he has run a holiday let since 2016 and raised concerns about the area becoming “satiated” with holiday properties, as he said there is already more than enough to meet demand.
To view or comment on the application, visit the Harrogate Borough Council planning website and use reference 22/02523/FUL.
Takeaway plan for former launderette on Starbeck High StreetA new takeaway could open on Starbeck High Street if planning permission is granted to convert a former launderette.
The premises at 47 High Street had been a launderette since the 1980s before being used as an off licence and a clothes shop in recent years.
A new application by owner Mark Leicester could see it changed to a takeaway.
Planning documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council said:
“The applicant, Mr M Leicester is the owner of numbers 41 to 47 High Street, Starbeck. These properties are retail units with residential accommodation above.
“The only changes to the property resulting from the proposal are internal and in themselves do not require planning permission. It is simply the changing of the use of the floorspace that is proposed.”
The application has had a mixed reception from Starbeck Residents’ Association. The group said local residents do not want empty premises, but they are also keen to have a more diverse range of shops.
A spokesperson said:
“In particular, it would be great to see a greengrocer selling fresh fruit and vegetables.
“We recognise however, that we cannot change the planning system, nor force particular businesses to move to our area. That’s why we consistently promote the fact that Starbeck is a wonderful area and a great place to do business.
“The Starbeck Residents’ Association is also working to see what else we can do to encourage a wider range of businesses to our area.”
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In early 2018, the shop began to be used as an off licence. Four members of the public objected to a retrospective application for the change of use as well as the retention of roller shutters and shop frontage.
The council’s planning officer found the roller shutters were out of keeping with the conservation area and were visually intrusive, and the application was declined.
A request to retain two illuminated signs outside the premises was also refused.
Dozens of objections to ‘ludicrous’ Crimple Valley housing planAlmost 70 objections have been submitted in two weeks after plans were put forward to build 35 homes in the Crimple Valley.
The outline proposal for Almsford Bank Stables includes 14 affordable homes, seven first homes and 14 self or custom build (SCB) plots.
However, 69 public comments have been received since Monday, June 20, all of which oppose the plans.
Among them, nearby resident Jules Sibson said:
“This application is ludicrous. There is no way the access here would be safe.
“Only a few weeks ago the road was closed for some period of time to a major road traffic accident. The traffic is stacked back on a regular basis, and if it’s not then people speed up and down the hill. A junction here would surely lead to disaster.
“As a local who also regularly enjoys the beautiful walks along here with my children I am literally dumbfounded this planning would even be re-considered.”
The proposed site, outlined in red, lies in the Crimple Valley
Another from Judith Hooper said:
“In the time we have been resident in Harrogate there have been numerous car accidents on Almsford bank, the most recent very serious one being only a few weeks ago.
“Cars accelerate down the bank on reaching the 50mph sign and already have to contend with traffic coming out of Crimple Hall.
“Putting access at the bottom of such a busy section of road, on a bend, seems to invite accidents. At night there are many cars clearly speeding on this stretch. At busy periods traffic is queuing both up and down the hill.”
Campaign group Save Crimple Valley has urged the public to submit objections to the new proposals.
It is the third application for the site site since 2018, when plans for 65 homes were put forward but withdrawn. The following year, a reduced proposal of 35 homes was submitted, but again withdrawn in the face of extensive objections.
The site is not included in Harrogate Borough Council’s local plan, which guides where development can take place in the district.
One objection to the latest proposal by the same applicant said the repeated applications were a “waste of everyone’s time”.
However, the application argues that the district does not have a sufficient supply of SCB sites to meet its obligations.
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Consultees have also submitted their responses, with National Highways (formerly Highways England) saying it had no objections to the proposals.
However, some have opposed the plans. The Harrogate branch of the Ramblers’ Association said:
“We object strongly to this latest outline application to develop this site. Any housing development here would seriously damage public amenity…
“We object to the building of houses in this special landscape. We object to this area of countryside being urbanised.
“The indicative layout shows the bridleway diverted onto a new estate road for part of its length. We object because there has been no provision made for the bridleway to be kept separate from the proposed access road to the houses.
“We do not accept a right of way being incorporated into a vehicular access road for a housing development. There is no provision to keep the non-motorised route separate from the housing estate road, but it is unlikely this can be achieved on this site.”
The plans have been submitted by Square Feet Ltd, whose registered address is on nearby Fulwith Mill Lane, and Antela Developments Ltd, two of whose three directors also live on Fulwith Mill Lane.
To view or comment on the plans, visit the Harrogate Borough Council planning website and use reference 22/02233/OUTMAJ.
The consultation ends on Sunday, July 10. A date for the application to be decided by the council has yet to be set.
Newby Hall owner proposes new quarry on land near RiponA proposal by the ancestral owner of a 17th century historic house to create a sand and gravel quarry near Ripon could create risks to human health from noise, air quality and vibration, a study has concluded.
North Yorkshire County Council planners have told Newby Gravels Ltd that its plan to extract up to 30,000 tonnes of materials a year from a nine-hectare site at Great Givendale, beside the River Ure south-east of Ripon, would have “significant impacts” and a series of measures would be needed to mitigate them.
Documents submitted to the authority ahead of an anticipated planning application state the firm estimates that quarrying work and restoration of the land would take place over a decade.
They state Newby Gravels, whose director Richard Compton is the owner of the nearby grade I listed Newby Hall, would remove the minerals from the site, which is currently agricultural land in open countryside opposite a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust haven, by 20-tonne trucks making 12 trips a day, joining the public road at Skelton Lane.
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The papers state transportation of the sand and gravel from the quarry, where at least four people would be employed, would be suspended during major events taking place at the hall.
They add the firm is currently exploring the feasibility of the establishing rental holiday lodges at the site following the quarry.
They state:
“Such a leisure activity would complement the existing activities of the hall and wider Ripon area including the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Yorkshire Dales National Park.
“Restoration would therefore be to a combination of wetland areas with surrounding amenity woodland and grasslands with up to 20 short-term let lodges for holiday use.”
Knaresborough scuba diving facility ‘woefully misunderstood’, says businessmanA scuba diving business owner has said plans for a deep diving facility in Knaresborough have been “woefully misunderstood” after the proposals were rejected.
Tim Yarrow, who owns Harrogate-based Diveshack, had planned to build the training pool facility on Thistle Hill.
However, Harrogate Borough Council rejected the plan on the grounds that the proposal would “result in harm to the visual and spatial openness of the green belt”.
Mr Yarrow, who has been a scuba instructor around the world for 30 years, said his facility would have offered an opportunity for “potential local investment”.
He said:
“It is my opinion that the necessity and requirements of a specific training facility for scuba and all it brings with regards to potential further local investment, employment and potential career paths has been woefully misunderstood.”
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The plan would have seen the site at Thistle Hill changed from agricultural land to a deep water diving centre.
Mr Yarrow said that his club, which has been open since 2018, currently trains young and upcoming divers. He said the facility would help to expand this.
However, the council said in its decision notice that the facility was also outside the development limit of any village or settlement.
It said:
“The proposal is for a new tourism and recreational use however the application fails to demonstrate that there is a local need for the facility in this location, that the facility is of a scale and nature appropriate to its location and intended purpose, and that the facility is accessible to the community or catchment population it is intended to serve.”
New £6m plans to extend Ripon Cathedral facilities proposedPlans for a £6million extension to the south side of Ripon Cathedral’s west-facing frontage are on hold and alternative proposals have been put on public display.
The Ripon Cathedral Renewed Project, which aims to provide 21st century facilities for the cathedral’s parishioners, choristers, the wider community and an ever-increasing number of visitors, already has £4 million in pledges.
But it needs to secure a further £2 million if ambitions are to be achieved.
Signs at the exhibition, being held in the north transept, explain that the alternative plan has been brought forward after reservations were expressed about the previously proposed extension
The new plan, captured in this artist’s impression, involves creating new indoor and outdoor space.
Proposals involve a standalone two-storey development to the north of the iconic building on an area of land that also houses the Old Courthouse Museum and the Royal British Legion Garden of Remembrance.
Proposal to close Minster Road to through traffic
They also include the suggested closure of Minster Road to through traffic, to provide a safe link for pedestrians and people in wheelchairs or families with prams and buggies, to move between the cathedral and the new building.
The proposal includes the provision of pedestrian-friendly links between the cathedral and the new building and into the Cathedral Car Park.
The community consultation aims to gauge views on the design of the new building, landscaping of the site and the Minster Road proposal.
Approval required at every level
A message from the Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd. John Dobson, thanks donors who have already pledged support to the Ripon Renewed Project and adds that the bid to make the vision a reality is ‘nearer than ever before.’
He points out that in addition to obtaining further financial pledges:
“We need plans that will attract approval at every level.”
The wooden model on display shows the new two-storey building to the right and its relationship to the cathedral.
The new building would incorporate indoor toilets, including a Changing Places toilet for disabled people, a café/refreshment area, improved shop, meeting room, new facilities for the choir school and additional storage capacity to take the pressure off use of space in the cathedral.
A national treasure
When the Ripon Renewed project that was announced Dean John, said:
“It is clear that the development of the cathedral is vital to bring this national treasure into the 21st century.
“As custodians of this fantastic building we are only too aware of the legacy we uphold. We have this ancient history, this wonderful architecture – what we haven’t got are the facilities that people need.
“Each generation has, over 13 centuries, taken on what has been handed to it and made its own contributions. We take none of this for granted and we have a responsibility, in our generation, to make our contribution now.”
The site for the proposed new building, is to the right of the Old Courthouse Museum and adjacent to the Royal British Legion Garden of Remembrance
Serving future communities
He added:
“Over the last few years it has become increasingly obvious to a growing number of people that the development of Ripon Cathedral is vital as we seek to serve the communities of the region now and in the future.”
The community consultation will help to shape a formal planning application that will be submitted to Harrogate Borough Council and people who go to view the plans, are asked by Dean John to fill out a short questionnaire available at the exhibition.
If successful, plans would see the first major development in hundreds of years of the cathedral’s facilities, for a building containing the oldest built fabric of any English cathedral – St Wilfrid’s Crypt – dating back to 672 AD.
Calls for archeological survey into Knaresborough’s Roman pastPlans to develop a site in Knaresborough could provide an opportunity to conduct an archeological survey into the town’s Roman past.
An application was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council on March 22 to build a four-bedroom house on Abbey Road.
There was pre-Roman and Roman occupation on the site prior to a Trinitarian Priory being founded.
Kathy Allday, chair of the Knaresborough Museum Association, said the planning application provided a rare opportunity to carry out an archaeological survey prior to any development,
She added the survey could reveal key details about Romano-British life in the area and also whether a nunnery, which is known to have existed in the vicinity, was on the site.
The association has been undertaking its own research in the vicinity of the former Trinitarian Priory and has found a Roman brooch and a medieval coin.
Ms Allday said:
“Antiquarian records and archive material suggest there was also a nunnery and outbuildings which were part of the Priory precinct in the vicinity. As such an archaeological survey of the site. should be a condition of any planning approval for this development.
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“Archaeological excavations in Abbey Road have been few and far between in the last few decades, so this is an opportunity that should not be missed. Otherwise the chance to learn more about medieval and Roman occupation in Knaresborough may be lost for a few more decades.”
There have been objections to the property being built. Knaresborough Town Council’s submission to the planning consultation says:
“We object to this development as it is within the Knaresborough Conservation Area and would not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the conservation area.”
A medieval window from Knaresborough priory, now in Pannal church – Photos by – @knaresboroughmuseum Instagram
Plans have been submitted to create a new, modern outdoor learning facility at Bewerley Park, near Pateley Bridge.
The proposals include two new accommodation blocks, a changing and wet suit drying room, and a central ‘hub’ space.
Each accommodation block would include 12 en-suite dormitories – seven with six beds and five with eight beds – and eight single rooms for staff.
The two-storey ‘hub’ would have space for lessons, dining, games and indoor sports, as well as a reception and kitchen facilities.
The new, larger buildings would be built in the same part of the site as the current smaller dormitories and would be centred around a courtyard. The project would be completed in phases, with the first accommodation block built before the old rooms are demolished.
The proposed new buildings at Bewerley Park
In a supporting statement, North Yorkshire County Council‘s agent, Align Property Partners, said:
“Simply, the design and layout of the current buildings do not meet the demands and function requirements of a modern outdoor education centre.
“The size and layout of the existing dormitories are inflexible in terms of varying occupancy and limit the potential use of the centre. For this reason, a new dormitory block is proposed in the first phase.”
As well as catering for schools and other groups, the plan references including facilities for campers, with a shower and toilet block. This, it says, forms part of the business plan: NYCC has emphasised the need for Bewerley Park to be sustainable without relying on funding from the taxpayer.
The residential centre had faced an uncertain future last year when owners North Yorkshire County Council said it was running at significant loss and its accommodation was not up to scratch.
However, after extensive support from schools and individuals, the county council decided to invest in the site for future use.
Full details of the planning application can be found here. Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision about the proposal on a date to be confirmed.
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Edwardian chapel near Masham could be converted to homeA disused Methodist chapel near Masham dating back more than 100 years could be converted into a home.
The Old Chapel at Breary Banks, Healey, was built in 1911 for workers building reservoirs that served people in Leeds. Breary Banks was later used as a prisoner of war camp during the First World War.
The slate roof chapel is not a listed building but is considered to be a non-designated heritage asset located within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Harrogate Borough Council has now received a planning application from Clementine Godwin to convert the chapel into a single house.
The rear of the chapel.
Planning documents submitted to the council say:
“The proposal is to convert the redundant former chapel into a single dwelling unit. This will be open plan and the sleeping area will be on an upper mezzanine level.
“The intention is to repair and maintain the external character and appearance of the old chapel. The entire development is contained within the existing envelope of the building, without the need for additional structure or openings in the external walls.
“The external repairs to the building will all be carried out with the utmost care and be sympathetic to the original construction.”
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Masham Parish Council has supported the application.
Breary Banks village was constructed in 1900 by the Leeds Corporation, which had commissioned the creation of two nearby reservoirs to supply Leeds with water.
The village was designed to house the navvies working on the construction of the reservoirs and their families. By spring 1904 the settlement accommodated 400 men with more huts being built, according to planning documents.
Sixteen men lived lived in each hut.
Planning permission was granted for the chapel to be used as a furniture workshop in 1983 but it was never acted on.