Villagers in Staveley demonstrated last weekend against a planned scheme for 73 homes near a nature reserve.
Thomas Alexander Homes, which is based in Leeds, has tabled the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council for land off Minskip Road near to Staveley Nature Reserve.
The plan would see a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses built in the village, which is between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge. The developer has also earmarked 40% of the homes as affordable.
However, residents armed with placards took to the village green on Saturday to protest against the plan which they say would be “utter madness”.
Graham Bowland, from Staveley Residents Action Group, said residents had also written to the council to object to the scheme.
He said:
“As of today there are 130 resident objection letters with Harrogate Borough Council – either processed or being processed.
“We bombarded them with actual letters given the lack of opportunity to use the planning portal over the past couple of weeks.”
The portal, which allows people to comment on planning applications, was down for over a week until last week.
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Residents previously raised objections at a village hall meeting this month.
The developer said in its plans the site represented a “logical extension” to the village.
It said:
Residents to protest against 73-home plan in Harrogate district village“The proposal forms a logical extension to Staveley, the local authority concurred with this assessment by allocating the site for residential development to the scale of approximately 72 dwellings.”
Residents in Staveley are set to hold a demonstration over a 73-home plan near a nature reserve.
Thomas Alexander Homes, which is based in Leeds, has tabled the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council for land off Minskip Road near to Staveley Nature Reserve.
The plan would see a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses built in the village, which is between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge. The developer has also earmarked 40% of the homes as affordable.
The site is allocated for housing in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-2035, which details where development can take place.
However, residents in the village say the move would be “utter madness”.
Graham Bowland, from the Staveley Residents Action Group, said a demonstration will be held on the village green at 11am on Saturday (March 25).
He said:
“It’s utter madness to bolt on 35% increase in houses to a village with no shops, no infrastructure, no bus service of use to those working a normal five day week in the major towns.”
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The move comes as residents raised their objection to the plan at a village hall meeting earlier this month.
The developer said in its plans that the site represented a “logical extension” to the village.
It said:
Plans for 73 homes near nature reserve in Harrogate district village“The proposal forms a logical extension to Staveley, the local authority concurred with this assessment by allocating the site for residential development to the scale of approximately 72 dwellings.”
A developer has submitted plans to build 73 homes in a Harrogate district village.
Thomas Alexander Homes, which is based in Leeds, has tabled the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council for land off Minskip Road near to Staveley Nature Reserve.
Staveley is midway between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge and has a population of about 440.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust says the nature reserve, which the charity owns, is a “superb wetland” containing otters and orchids.
The plan would see a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses built. The developer has also earmarked 40% of the homes as affordable.
The site is allocated for housing in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-2035, which details where development can take place.
The developer said in its plans that the site represented a “logical extension” to the village.
It said:
“The proposal forms a logical extension to Staveley, the local authority concurred with this assessment by allocating the site for residential development to the scale of approximately 72 dwellings.”
Read more:
- Staveley villagers begin fight against 22-home development
- Lost planning appeals have cost Harrogate district taxpayers £209,000 in legal fees
However, residents have raised concern over potential housing on the site.
Graham Bowland, from the Staveley Residents Action Group, said a meeting was held at the village hall this week to raise objections to the plan.
He said:
“We successfully fought off development before and now we have an application for 73 homes on the field known as SV1 on the Minskip Road opposite the Staveley Nature Reserve.
“It will increase the size of the village by 35%, but sadly despite significant objections from residents and the parish council at the time, it still went into the local plan.”
A decision on the plan will be made at a later date.