Consultation launched for 480 homes on Harrogate’s Otley Road

Homes England has begun a public consultation on plans to build 480 homes at Bluecoat Wood, opposite Cardale Park and Harrogate police station.

The government housing agency bought the site this year after previous plans to develop it stalled. It plans to call the development Bluecoat Park.

The site covers 28 hectares of largely green fields and homes would wrap around Horticap.

The scheme would include a new pitch for Pannal Ash Cricket Club, a sports hub and a children’s play area. Homes England said 40% of the homes would be “affordable”.

A new community woodland would also be planted.

The consultation, which will end on January 10, will inform the submission of a full planning application to Harrogate Borough Council. A website has been created for people to submit their thoughts on the scheme.

Harrogate Borough Council‘s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, the council’s plan for development in the district until 2035, says 450 homes can be built on the site.

Traffic concerns

Separate plans for 780 homes and a new primary school have been proposed by Taylor Wimpey and Redrow at nearby Bluecoat Wood on Otley Road.

Local residents group Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association has raised concerns about congestion on Otley Road as well as extra traffic through nearby villages such as Beckwithshaw, North Rigton and Burn Bridge.

Homes England said its Bluecoat Park development would help inform the West Harrogate Parameters Plan, a document that will assess transport and infrastructure needs associated with wider plans to build up to 4,000 homes on the western side of Harrogate.

The plan was expected last year but has been delayed until February 2022.

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The site’s history

Housing has been mooted at Bluecoat Wood for many years.

In February 2016, HBC granted planning permission to a partnership of developers called HTH Harrogate LLP to build 450 homes.

It followed an earlier refusal of permission on the grounds of road safety and traffic flow problems.

However, Homes England bought the site in February after the developer pulled out.

In the summer, Homes England submitted an environmental impact assessment for 530 homes on the site. The number has now been reduced.

Community groups in the dark about Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods plan

In July, Harrogate Spring Water promised to publish “within weeks” details of a new planning application to expand its bottling plant in the Pinewoods. But as the end of the year approaches, it looks no nearer to being made public.

The company’s pledge followed January’s high-profile refusal to expand the plant, which would have meant destroying public woodland planted by local families in the area of Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood.

To compensate, Harrogate Spring Water offered to replant trees, create scrubland and build a pond on private land behind Harlow Carr Gardens.

But the loss of trees at Rotary Wood provoked a major backlash and councillors on Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee voted overwhelmingly to reject it.

Harrogate Spring Water already has outline permission dating back to 2016 to expand its bottling plant, but the company said in July it was working on a completely new application and the old application would be disregarded.

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The company pledged to consult with the community before pursuing a formal planning application to the council.

However, the Stray Ferret has been told that no meaningful talks with community groups have taken place since January’s refusal.

Groups that are still in the dark about what the new application will look like include the Rotary Club, which planted the trees in Rotary Wood, and Pinewoods Conservation Group, a charity that works to preserve the Pinewoods.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Spring Water said:

“Harrogate Spring Water is still in the process of talking to all relevant parties. We will communicate any update as and when it happens.”

‘No justification’ to delay building 200 homes in Pannal Ash

Harrogate Borough Council officers have said a decision to delay a controversial proposal to build 200 homes on a former police training centre site in Pannal Ash was “not justified”.

The council’s planning committee deferred a decision in June on whether to approve the development on the Yew Tree Lane site, pending publication of the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.

The parameters plan will assess transport and infrastructure needs associated with wider plans to build up to 4,000 homes on the western side of Harrogate.

As reported by the Stray Ferret, the decision to defer was met with frustration by Homes England which told the council in an email it was “extremely disappointing”.

Now council officials have told councillors that the decision had “no policy basis” and urged them to approve the scheme next week.

In a report due before the council’s planning committee next week, they say the parameters plan will not “replace or alter any of the policy requirements set out within the Harrogate District Local Plan 2014-35”.

It adds that the Local Plan, which describes where development is permitted to take place in the district, is the “starting point” for determining any application submitted to the council.

The report says:

“As noted above there is no policy basis for deferring the determination of this application until the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan is concluded.

“There is no reason to delay the determination of this application pending completion of the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.”

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The report goes on to say that the development would make “a valuable contribution to meeting the district’s housing need”.

It recommends councillors approve the proposal at the planning committee meeting on December 7.

Homes England, the government housing agency, has permission to build 161 homes on the site on Yew Tree Lane but wants to increase this by 23% to 200 homes by building on a sports pitch.

Indicative masterplan of the homes on the former police training centre, as included in the planning documents.

Indicative masterplan of the homes on the former police training centre, as included in the planning documents.

The proposal has proved controversial with Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, which said its faith in the planing system was being “severely tested” by the development.

A spokesperson for HAPARA said:

“HAPARA and the Western Arc Coordination Group will discuss our response very shortly, but the last time this went before committee we argued very strongly that any decision on this site before the parameters plan is agreed will jeopardise the objective of a joined-up approach to the developments and infrastructure on the west side of Harrogate and be contrary to the statements and assurances the community have been given by Harrogate Borough Council.

“Members agreed with this view.  The new officer’s report is based on a very narrow interpretation of the requirements of the Local Plan which was predicated on the earlier permission for 161 dwellings.  The current application is materially different in scale and content.”

Homes England has already appointed property company, Countryside Properties, to build the scheme as part of a £63 million contract.

The contract was awarded in March this year and runs until December 2026.

Harrogate former metalworks could be demolished for housing

Plans have been submitted to demolish the former Franklyn Metal Works on Strawberry Dale Square so it can be replaced with housing.

Developer Hodgson-Jones Developments is proposing to build three four-bedroom houses on the site, which was most recently used by the builder’s merchant Wrayways until May 2020.

For 60 years the site was home to Franklyn Metal Works before closing in 1992.

Planning documents say the buildings should be demolished as it would need substantial investment for it to be reused for commercial purposes.

The plans include five car parking spaces and three electric vehicle charging points.

In 2018, planning permission was granted to demolish some other buildings on the same site to build five homes.

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Planning backlog blamed on staff shortages and 20% rise in applications

A planning backlog at Harrogate Borough Council is being blamed on a “double whammy” of staffing shortages and rise in applications.

The authority is asking for patience as its depleted planning department works through a long list of applications that have seen a recent 20% rise compared with previous years.

Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the council’s opposition party, told a meeting on Monday that residents were becoming “frustrated” with the delays but added she was reassured action was being taken.

She said:

“This is being noticed by a lot of residents who have got planning applications in.

“There is a lot of frustration and I have had several people contact me saying this is taking too long.

“But this council isn’t just sitting still and doing nothing.”

A report to Monday’s meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee said the planning department had job adverts out for the five vacancies it is currently trying to fill.

However, councillors admitted it could prove difficult to attract suitable candidates due to the uncertainties surrounding local government reorganisation which will mean the council is abolished by April 2023.

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The report to Monday’s meeting said:

“Planning applications are all showing as off target.

“This has been because the service is receiving 20% more applications than has been experienced in previous years.

“The service also experiences a high staff turnover which means the service has not been fully staffed since the review in March 2020.

“Agency staff contracts have been extended and the service has adverts for five new members of staff.”

The council aims to process all major applications within 13 weeks and all minor applications within 8 weeks.

Latest figures show 67% of major applications and 81% of minor applications met this aim between April and June this year.

Both of these were against a percentage target of 85%.

What is green belt land and how would Harrogate look without it?

It was first introduced in the 1960s to stop urban sprawl and protect Harrogate’s countryside from being dug up for developments.

The green belt is protected areas of rural land where the building of new homes and businesses is only allowed in special circumstances.

Its supporters say green belts have preserved landscapes across the country, while critics claim they protect the rich, stop houses being built and encourage commuting by cars.

But what would Harrogate look like if its protected areas of land had never been created?

36,000 acres of greenbelt

The green belt covers almost 36,000 acres across the district – equivalent to 11% of the total area.

It stretches along the district’s southern boundary with Leeds and up between Harrogate and Knaresborough to stop the two towns merging. There is also an area in the east of the district that forms part of the York green belt, which encircles the city.

Without the protection that the green belt offers, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s built-up areas – which sit just half a mile apart – could have formed one.

Other areas to the west including Otley and Ilkley could have also expanded ever-outwards and swallowed up the smaller settlements that surround them.

But the rules and regulations which make up green belt policy have not stopped developers coming forward with plans.

There have been almost 1,700 applications to Harrogate Borough Council in the protected areas since 2011. Most of these were for extensions and farm buildings, but others have been of some significance.

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In early 2020, a developer behind plans for 210 homes on the outskirts of Wetherby near Stockeld Park was refused planning permission by both the council and a government inspector at appeal.

On the flip side, the construction of Harrogate Rugby Club’s Rudding Lane ground would not have been possible if the council did not allow for “special circumstances” when plans were approved in 2013.

These are just two examples of when development can and can’t take place in the green belt, with the task of deciding which circumstances are “special” enough to justify development often resulting in interventions by government inspectors.

Protecting greenbelt ‘a core principle’, says council

Cllr Tim Myatt, cabinet member for planning at Harrogate Borough Council, said the authority attaches great importance to protecting the green belt and that doing so is a key part of local and national policy.

He said: 

“Any proposal for development in the district’s two green belts – namely the West Yorkshire green belt and the York green belt – would need to be in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework, which makes clear that any development should not be approved except in very special circumstances.

“Protecting the green belt is one of the core planning principles of the NPPF and something our adopted Local Plan also specifies.”

The green belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough was reviewed in 1992 and minor changes were made when the district’s 2001 Local Plan was adopted.

However, the boundaries were not reviewed when the most recent Local Plan was adopted in 2020 – something residents in Harlow and Pannal Ash say should have happened.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said: 

“We would have liked to see the green belt extended to provide more protection to the landscape between Harrogate and Beckwithshaw.

“But that, we understand, would have required a formal review process, and Harrogate Borough Council was not receptive to the idea.”

Mr Siddans also said it is the development of greenfield land – not green belt – which presents the biggest threat to the environment and local area, which is facing the construction of hundreds of new homes.

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He said these greenfield sites – which are untouched areas not previously built on – were seen as “easy pickings” when Harrogate’s most recent Local Plan was being developed.

Mr Siddans said: 

“When the Local Plan was being prepared and sites were being sought to accommodate around 16,000 new houses, all the greenfields around the western arc which were not green belt were targeted for development.

“No major developments are proposed on the existing area zoned as green belt west of Harrogate.

“However, greenfield sites do not have the same protection, except that those located around the western arc are all within designated areas of special landscape value.

“In practice, the planning authority pays little attention to this protection, hence the massive and highly intrusive developments currently being proposed.”

Controversial plans for Goldsborough homes approved

Plans for 36 homes in Goldsborough have been approved despite fears the development will “tear up” the historic village’s conservation area.

Stonebridge Homes was granted final approval by Harrogate Borough Council yesterday at the third time of asking.

The housing company was previously told to rethink its Station Road scheme and hold a meeting with councillors and residents.

This meeting was held in August but it was followed only by complaints that the developers “weren’t willing to shift” on issues including the density and design of the homes.

Speaking at a meeting of the council’s planning committee, councillor Andrew Paraskos, a Conservative who represents Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale, said:

“A meeting did take place but there was no movement from the developers at all.

“Residents understand that there will be something on this plot, but they would just like something that is more in keeping with the village.

“We have deferred this plan twice and I think it is now time to refuse it.”

‘Conservation area is a sham’

Resident Noel Evans also said the plans appeared to be “set in stone with no bridge for improvements” and that the development would amount to a “public tearing up of the Goldsborough conservation area”.

The conservation area sits adjacent to the site and was introduced in 2008 as an area of architectural and historical interest, including much of the village.

Mr Evans said:

“The tallest buildings proposed on this site will be amongst the highest buildings in Goldsborough – higher than the church and Goldsborough Hall.

“This will irretrievably destroy the historic skyline. This site needs an entirely fresh and appropriate set of plans.

“The conservation area is a sham and has no reason to exist with this council.”

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In its latest proposals, Stonebridge Homes included additional tree planting and information relating to materials.

The developers also argued the plans met national requirements and had received the backing of council officers three times with recommendations of approval.

Becky Lomas, an agent for Stonebridge Homes, told the meeting:

“The proposal before you today creates a well designed scheme, which is able to meet national requirements.

“This is a position which has been supported by council officers three times now at planning committee and the proposal of 36 dwellings is not considered to be in conflict with the development plan.”

The plans – which include a mix of one to five-bedroom properties – received 39 objections from residents and no letters of support.

The application was approved by councillors on the planning committee with six votes for, three against and one abstention.

Eight commercial units approved at Dunlopillo site in Pannal

Harrogate Borough Council has approved plans for eight new commercial units at the former Dunlopillo factory site in Pannal.

York-based Echo Green Developments has lodged the application, which will see the units based to the northern part of the site on Thirkill Drive.

It will also include 28 car parking spaces, 10 cycle spaces and two motorcycle spaces.

The developer said in planning documents that the scheme would “deliver much needed economic development” and that the site was earmarked as employment land by the council.

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The former Dunlopillo site has undergone considerable redevelopment already.

Councillors gave permission to change the site into a mixed-use development back in 2015. Much of the site has already been demolished and replaced by housing as well as the Vida Grange care home.

Approval has also been granted to demolish the former Dunlopillo office block and build 48 apartments.

Harrogate’s former Laura Ashley shop could become yoga studio

A boutique yoga and pilates studio has submitted plans to open in the former Laura Ashley shop on Harrogate’s James Street.

Ebru Evrim currently provides provides classes in Skipton and sells activewear clothing.

According to planning documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, the owner wants to replicate the business in Harrogate town centre.

If approved, the plans would see the James Street unit converted into a retail and teaching space over three floors.

The two upper floors would be used as yoga and pilates studios and the activewear would be sold on the ground floor.

The company, which also arranges holidays, retreats and workshops, says on its website:

“The boutique brand founder and owner Ebru Evrim moved over from Istanbul in 2015, and began to teach ashtanga yoga and basic pilates as a freelancer in village halls and other local venues in Upper Wharfedale.”

The building, at 3 James Street, has been vacant for 12 months after Laura Ashley went into administration in March last year before going into partnership with Next.

The plans are currently under review by.

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Micah Richards tackled by Harrogate council in bid to go green

Ex-England footballer Micah Richards has claimed Harrogate Borough Council thwarted his bid to install an electric vehicle charging point at his Harrogate home.

Richards is a regular pundit on Sky Sports alongside Roy Keane and Graeme Souness. During Sunday’s coverage, the trio discussed what steps they had taken to tackle climate change and improve the environment.

Richards said he had an electric car and hoped to install a charging point at his home.

However, the former England player claimed he was held back by the council’s planning department. He said:

“I had an electric car for a while. Harrogate council though didn’t allow me to have a charger. So I had to stop that for about six months.”

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Richards’ comments received support on Twitter, with one person saying councils and government should do more to install charging points and encourage electric vehicle use:

“Good of Micah Richards to mention Harrogate council. The government and councils don’t help on the expense involved of electric cars and charging points to make it practical. You either want to do this as a country for people or not.”

Another person tweeted:

“Micah Richards calling out Harrogate planning department for refusing an electric charging point was not the content I was expecting when turning on Sky Sports today!”

A council spokesman said:

“Planning permission is not normally required for the installation of wall-mounted electric vehicle charging points so we’d welcome Mr Richards getting in touch with us as we’d be happy to help.

“He is also welcome to use the charging points at our civic centre on St Luke’s Avenue in Harrogate.”