Government approves controversial 72 homes in Spofforth

The government has approved controversial plans for 72 homes in Spofforth. The approval will come as a bitter disappointment to many residents who fought the development.

Yorkshire Housing Ltd has challenged Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to refuse its proposal for the site on Massey Fold.

The developer already had outline permission to build on the site, but councillors turned down an application for appearance and landscaping in November 2020.

Siobhan Watson, a government planning inspector, has given the go-ahead for the proposal.

Ms Watson said in her decision report:

“I find some harm to the character and appearance of the countryside, however, I find the internal layout and detailed design of the proposed housing to be acceptable.”

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She also awarded costs against the council after finding that the authority “behaved unreasonably” and that its reasons for refusal were “vague and illogical”.

Ms Watson said:

“Given the site’s planning history, I find the council’s refusal of the application and subsequent defence of the case to be both vague and illogical. I consider that the development should have been clearly permitted and that the council produced vague and generalised assertions about the proposal’s impact which are unsupported by objective analysis. 

“The council has therefore behaved unreasonably, and thereby caused the party applying for the costs to incur unnecessary expense in the appeal process.”

The decision follows concerns from local residents over the design and that the housing would not be in keeping with the village.

More than 300 local people and organisations, including Natural England and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, raised concerns about the scheme.

Shirley Fawcett, chairman of Spofforth with Stockeld Parish Council, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson appealing for help in challenging the development.

She said in her letter that the village is “a very blue village but which is seeing red thanks to the government’s planning policies”.

Ms Fawcett added that it “will never be the same” if the appeal is allowed and that the “Sword of Damocles” hung over villagers.

The developer said the borough council had “unreasonably delayed development” at the site and that its case “does not contain any objective analysis that justifies the reason for refusal”.

Yorkshire Housing Ltd declined to comment at this stage.

Stray Views: Swearing at ‘odd’ people sets a disturbing example

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Swearing at someone for being odd sets a worrying trend

The local MP for Selby and Ainsty, Nigel Adams, was recently filmed telling a peaceful protester who asked him a question as he was passing by, to “f*** off” because he did not wish to talk to him. This was because, as he put it, he was an “odd bloke with a top hat on chasing me down the street” and because he was “annoying”.

Subsequently, that has been applauded as “straight talking”. So I guess because our local MP (now also promoted to a place in the Cabinet Office as Minister without Portfolio) has just shown the way, that now gives permission for anyone to tell anyone to “F*** off” just because they seem “odd” to them.

For instance, a wheelchair user may seem “odd” to them or a woman may seem “odd” to them; or someone with a different skin colour may seem “odd” to them.

And if just seeming odd is enough to allow someone to swear at them, why stop there?

If this is the level of leadership the people who lead the county and country now feel they can demonstrate, we should be careful what we wish for – and be very afraid.

Friedy Luther, Spofforth

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New Park roundabout ‘an accident waiting to happen’

Re the proposed new Tesco, it must be stressed that the existing New Park roundabout is an accident waiting to happen with increased traffic flow.

There is a blind spot for traffic approaching from the town centre because of the flats built on the right concealing the approach of traffic from Knaresborough.  Also the outside lane allows traffic to either cross straight ahead towards Ripon in the path of traffic in the inside lane or to turn right up the hill towards Knaresborough.

Gillian Long, Harrogate

Why doesn’t covid hotspot Harrogate have a vaccination site?

In light of Harrogate’s extremely high rate of covid infections, why hasn’t the town got a permanent walk-in testing centre / vaccination centre rather than sending the population out of area to achieve any service at all?

Mike Hodgson, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

 

Harrogate district MP promoted to cabinet

Nigel Adams MP has been promoted as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes parts of rural Harrogate, has been appointed minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office.

He moves from his previous position as minister of state for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The new role means he will support coordinating government policy, but will not have responsibility for a specific department.

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Mr Adams will, however, sit on the cabinet and have a vote at meetings, which means he is one of the country’s key decision makers.

The Prime Minister said he wanted a “strong and united team to build back better from the pandemic” after his reshuffle.

The appointment comes days after Mr Adams was criticised for telling anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray to “f**k off” outside the House of Commons.

He defended his outburst, which he claimed “no doubt reflected” the feelings of other MPs.

Call for government to reject controversial Spofforth homes plan

Residents in Spofforth have called on the government to reject a controversial plan for 72 homes in Spofforth.

Yorkshire Housing Ltd has challenged Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to refuse its proposal for the site on Massey Fold.

The developer already has outline permission to build on the site, but councillors turned down an application for appearance and landscaping in November 2020.

An appeal will now go before the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which will decide whether to approve the proposal.

But residents have written to the government to call for the proposal to be thrown out.

Luke Barrett, who lives in the village, said in a letter to the Planning Inspectorate that the proposal was out of character for Spofforth.

He said:

“Spofforth is a historic village with only 500 houses. The entrance to the scheme is at the most historic side with numerous historical or listed buildings.

“The scheme is clearly out of character with this.

“The land presents such a rare opportunity to provide something special that could actually add to the character or beautiful village [sic].

“Unfortunately the proposed scheme does the opposite and detracts from the village. Please protect the village and dismiss the appeal.”

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Meanwhile, Spofforth with Stockheld Parish Council told the inspector that residents were not against more housing, but added that the current proposal was not in keeping with the village.

In a letter, Shirley Fawcett, chair of the parish council, said:

“The community of Spofforth accept the need for additional houses but there is great concern about the design, form and number of houses proposed; the layout and density of the proposed development; and the impact of the proposed development on the character and setting of the attractive and historic village of Spofforth. 

“Indeed, the general consensus of parishioners is that this development would result in the urbanisation of the village, with no sympathy shown to the existing architecture, fabric or heritage of the village.”

More than 300 local people and organisations, including Natural England and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, have raised concerns about the scheme.

In its decision notice, the Harrogate council said the plan would have a “detrimental urbanising impact upon the character and setting of Spofforth”.

But, in a statement of case by planning lawyers Walton & Co, which is representing the developers, said the “solitary” reason for refusal was “expressed in generic language”.

It said:

“It is therefore unclear which particular aspect of the layout or design of the proposed scheme is considered to give rise to such impacts, and the assertions made in the reason for refusal are entirely unsubstantiated.”

A decision on the appeal will be made by the government at a later date.

Have you seen the Spofforth scarecrows?

Spofforth residents raised £650 last weekend for next year’s platinum jubilee celebrations in this year’s summer solstice challenge.

Villagers created 33 scarecrows as part of this year’s film-inspired challenge. The sale of trail maps, hot and cold drinks, flowers and cakes at the village hall generated funds.

All of that income will go towards preparations for a long weekend of events to celebrate the queen’s 70th year on the throne in 2022.

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The top three scarecrows by vote were ‘Wind in the Willows by Michael and Marion Lamb, Up by Chris and Chloe Verity, and Harry Potter, by the Roberts family.

Marie Cousens and Robyn Farmer, who helped organise the summer solstice challenge, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s gone really well. I am amazed by the amount of scarecrows we have around the village and the quality of them.

“We’ve had lots of people coming through, buying tonnes and tonnes of cakes. It’s been cake delight in the village hall.

“It’s the second time in recent times we have done this. Last year’s trail was really good at brightening the spirits of residents. It’s lovely to see everyone out and about.”

More delightful scarecrows:

Spofforth residents ‘not surprised’ by 72 homes appeal

A leading figure in the fight against plans to build 72 homes in Spofforth has urged the government to reject it as the battle was reignited this week.

Yorkshire Housing has challenged Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to reject its proposal for the site on Massey Fold.

The developer already has outline permission to build on the site but councillors turned down an application for appearance and landscaping in November.

Chris Heslop, a third-generation farmer and parish councillor in the village, said the development would turn the village into a “carbuncle of urban sprawl” when it went before the council.

Speaking yesterday, he said he wasn’t surprised Yorkshire Housing had challenged the decision, which will now be decided by the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

Mr Heslop said:

“I just hope that during the appeal they uphold the decision that was made. There is nothing really we can do about it.

“Spofforth needs housing and it needs a level of low-cost housing, but this would not meet those needs.”

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More than 300 local people and organisations, including Natural England and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, have raised concerns about the scheme.

In its decision notice, the council said the plan would have a “detrimental urbanising impact upon the character and setting of Spofforth”.

But, in a statement of case by planning lawyers Walton & Co, which is representing the developers, said the “solitary” reason for refusal was “expressed in generic language”.

It said:

“It is therefore unclear which particular aspect of the layout or design of the proposed scheme is considered to give rise to such impacts, and the assertions made in the reason for refusal are entirely unsubstantiated.”

A decision on the appeal will be made by the government at a later date.

Developers challenge Spofforth 72-home refusal

Developers behind a controversial 72-home plan in Spofforth have lodged an appeal against Harrogate Borough Council’s refusal of the scheme.

Councillors on the authority’s planning committee turned down the application by Vistry Partnerships and Yorkshire Housing in November last year.

At the time, more than 300 local people and organisations, including Natural England and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, raised concerns about the scheme on Massey Fold in the village.

The proposal already has outline permission, but councillors rejected the application which dealt with the appearance and landscaping of the development even though a council report recommended approval.

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The council said the plan would have a “detrimental urbanising impact upon the character and setting of Spofforth”.

Now, the developers have taken the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with planning appeals.

A statement of case by planning lawyers Walton & Co, which is representing the developers, said the “solitary” reason for refusal was “expressed in generic language”.

It said:

“It is therefore unclear which particular aspect of the layout or design of the proposed scheme is considered to give rise to such impacts, and the assertions made in the reason for refusal are entirely unsubstantiated.”

A decision on the appeal will be made by the government at a later date.

It becomes the latest Harrogate council planning decision to be challenged by developers.

Retail firm Euro Garages has also taken the authority’s rejection for a drive-thru Starbucks coffee shop on Wetherby Road to appeal.

The decision saw the planning committee go against council officer recommendations.

Last week, the authority decided to drop its defence of the refusal after officers said their previous recommendation would “undermine” their case and that losing also risked legal costs of more than £50,000.

Instead, residents will fight the proposal at a hearing on June 15.

WATCH: BBC film of Alan Whicker’s 1960 trip to the Spofforth horse breaker

On a damp day on September 9, 1960, broadcaster Alan Whicker came to Spofforth to interview one of the country’s few remaining horse breakers.

Jack Anderson was 75 at the time and had been training horses for 60 years at the time of the interview.

Mr Anderson gave advice on how he trained horses and an insight into his unusual life.

The video was first first broadcast as part of Tonight, which covered the arts, sciences as well as topical matters and current affairs.

It is now part of a BBC archive of films shared on a weekly basis.

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The interview starts with a series of questions on how to stop horses kicking and biting and how to hold a horse for shoeing.

Mr Anderson also talked about the times when it went wrong:

“I have had legs broken, collar bone, jaw, ribs. Oh yes. One [horse] will do one thing and one will do another. But the heart of the thing is to make them.

“There is a way of making them. If I said to go over them then we went over, even if it took an hour and a half because I am a crude fella when I start.”

He adds he does all of his training by talking, not by using the stick that he brandishes to the camera.

Do any Stray Ferret readers remember Jack Anderson, the Spofforth horse breaker, or the day Alan Whicker visited?

Solar farm proposed for Spofforth

Yorkshire Water could build a solar farm on its wastewater plant near Spofforth.

The company has submitted an environmental impact assessment to the council for its site on Ribston Road, near the village.

The plans are still in their early stages and it has not been decided how much space to allocate for the solar panels.

Yorkshire Water, which is the second largest landowner in the county, plans to develop energy at 150 of its sites as part of a plan to become carbon net-zero by 2030.

A spokesman for the company said the sewage farm would continue to operate alongside the solar panels.

He added:

“Many of Yorkshire Water’s treatment works include land that could be used for different purposes, such as ground mounted solar arrays.

“These allow us to maximise the value of otherwise unused land, while providing renewable energy to offset the consumption of existing on-site assets.”

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In November the company submitted proposals for a similar solar scheme at its sewage works in Bilton.

The plans attracted concern from Leeds Bradford Airport, which said in its consultation response that the panels could dazzle pilots.

The Harrogate district’s top five covid hotspots

There have been 633 covid infections recorded in the Harrogate district in the last seven days, according to government statistics.

The infection rate has rocketed over the last month and the current seven-day average rate is now 494 people per 100,000.

But there are considerable variations within the district.

The government breaks each district into smaller areas known as middle super output areas, each with a population of about 7,200 people.

According to the latest figures, the middle super output areas with the most current infections are central Harrogate and central Knaresborough.

The more rural Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley, which has been consistently less affected throughout the pandemic, has the fewest current infections.

Most infections

1 Central Harrogate 76

2 Knaresborough Central 61

3 Harrogate West and Pannal 59

4 Killinghall and Hampsthwaite 53

5 Starbeck 47

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Fewest Infections

1 Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley 13

2 Hookstone 17

3= Dishthorpe, Baldersby and Markington

3= Spofforth, Burn Bridge and Huby 19

5 Masham, Kirkby Malzeard and North Stainley 21