‘Real solutions’ needed to west of Harrogate congestion, say residents

Residents in Pannal have called for “real solutions” to congestion amid an upcoming “explosion in housing” in the west of Harrogate.

Thea area is set to see up to 2,500 new homes built over the next two decades.

North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are currently working on the West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy, which looks at how the area will cope with increased homes.

The strategy is part of the wider proposals for the area and builds upon the West Harrogate Parameters Plan, which sets out how the area’s infrastructure and services will look.

However, Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council has said some of the measures planned by the county council, which include junction modifications, “will do nothing” to ease congestion and called for “real solutions” to the problem.

John Mann, a Conservative county councillor representing Pannal and Oatlands, spoke on behalf of the parish council at a county council executive meeting today.

Cllr Mann (pictured) said an increase in homes would have an impact on local road infrastructure, including the A61 towards Leeds and Bradford.

He said:

“New or vastly improved roads are required, not merely a few modified junctions.

“Previous consultation meetings have been little more than Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council outlining a few junction modifications plans plus a great deal of promotion for cycle and pedestrian paths, plus increased bus services that would not come into operation until all the developments are finished.

“Active travel and buses in and out of Harrogate from the west of Harrogate developments will do nothing to alleviate the daily commute, rat running and school runs through our parish.”

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In response, Cllr Keane Duncan, executive county councillor for access, said 

“The county council is working to address congestion in and around Harrogate now and in advance of the planned development in the west of Harrogate, which will see an extra 2,500 homes constructed between now and 2035.

“This major strategic development is key to providing much needed housing and promoting Harrogate’s future economic growth, as is the proposed Maltkiln development.

“It is vital therefore that the council continues essential work on both of these schemes in parallel.

“While the west of Harrogate development is spread over several sites and a number of separate planning applications, a unified approach is being taken for the delivery of essential infrastructure and mitigation of traffic impacts.

“We are working with the land promoters and their consultants, who have been instructed to look at traffic impacts cumulatively and this will be documented in a transport strategy.”

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for access at North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for access at North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Duncan added that a “number of junctions” had already been identified for improvement, which would be paid for by developers.

He said further consultation on infrastructure would be held with resident groups and parish councils.

The move comes after the Stray Ferret revealed that North Yorkshire County Council appointed RPS Consulting Services Limited to oversee a review of junction improvements in the west of Harrogate.

The Oxfordshire company was awarded £200,000 as part of the contract.

Park and ride plans still in the works

Meanwhile, Cllr Duncan said work on a park and ride for Harrogate was “still in the feasibility stage” and no decision on its site had been made.

The scheme has long been seen as part of the solution to congestion in the town.

The county council said previously that the plans would take around six months to assess and could be published next year.

Cllr Duncan said today:

“Given this, it would be wrong to rule out or rule in any particular site at this stage”

Council defends master plan to cope with 4,000 new homes in west Harrogate

Harrogate Borough Council has been forced on the defensive after revealing the draft version of a long-awaited master plan on how part of the town will cope with 4,000 new homes.

The West of Harrogate Parameters Plan was requested by government to identify infrastructure, transport and education needs in the area.

After months of delays, the 160-page plan was finally published last week but hopes it would provide a clear vision for the future were quickly dashed when residents reacted with disappointment.

Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association said the plan “totally avoids the heart of the problem” of thousands of new homes piling pressure on already congested roads.

The group also claimed the plan appeared to have been produced for the benefit of housing developers – not residents.

Harrogate Borough Council – which is working alongside North Yorkshire County Council – has now defended the plan which it insisted is still in draft form and will take account of residents’ concerns.

A council spokesperson said:

“The West of Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP) is a high-level master plan that seeks to deliver the policies set out in the adopted Local Plan, including those related to climate change, design and active travel.

“As we have explained previously, we do not have the powers to introduce new policy requirements through the WHPP.

“However, the WHPP will look ahead to planned changes to building regulations that are being introduced nationally and will continue to strongly encourage developers to meet high standards of design to help mitigate and adapt to climate change.”

Fears over schools and roads

Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council is another group which shares concerns over the impact of new housing developments on traffic congestion.

Its chairman, councillor Howard West, said the area’s infrastructure has suffered from years of “neglect” and that there is “no evidence whatsoever at this stage that any such provision has been made”.

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Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, also said the plan should give greater importance to the need for investment in areas including bus services, road junction improvements, the widening of footpaths and more cycling routes.

He also questioned how schools will cope with an expected shortfall of nearly 700 pupil places across Harrogate and Knaresborough by 2025/26. Mr Dziabas said:

“Many of the problems have existed for years, so we feel that it is about time that they were properly addressed.”

Final version coming

The WHPP includes provision for two new primary schools – one off Whinney Lane and another off Otley Road. It also identifies potential locations for sports pitches, employment areas, public transport routes, community centres, allotments and walking and cycling links.

Once approved, the plan will sit alongside the Harrogate District Local Plan as a guide for how future planning applications should be decided.

Several meetings have recently been held between council officials and residents to discuss the WHPP, and the council said feedback is now being taken onboard before a final version is prepared.

A council spokesperson said:

“Many of the community stakeholders – who have publicly stated that the plan should be published as soon as possible – have been involved since the preparation of the first draft of the WHPP over a year ago.

“And although there is no statutory requirement to consult, we are thankful for the ongoing constructive feedback we have received in response to the second working draft.

“Throughout the preparation of the plan, we have consistently aimed to deliver quality place-making that will provide a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“This feedback will be carefully considered as we prepare the final version for recommendation to the cabinet member.”

Infrastructure plan for 4,000 homes in west Harrogate ‘a missed opportunity’

A long-awaited plan to solve how the west of Harrogate’s roads, schools, and health services will cope with 4,000 extra homes has been branded a “missed opportunity”.

The comments have come from The Western Arc Coordination Group and Zero Carbon Harrogate, which had a meeting with council officers on Thursday to discuss  a draft version of the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.

The Western Arc Coordination Group includes Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association (Hapara), Duchy Residents’ Association, Hampsthwaite Action Group, North Rigton Parish Council and Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council.

Proposed housing schemes in the area include the 1,000-home Windmill Farm development on Otley Road and 560 homes at Blue Coat Wood. The plan was written with input from developers, including Homes England and Gladman Developments.

It includes proposals for two new primary schools and a possible new GP surgery — which have been previously announced. The plan has yet to be released to the general public.

‘Almost as if no problems exist’

Rene Dziabas, chair of Hapara, told the Stray Ferret the plan “totally avoids the heart of the problem”.

At over 100 pages long, he said it lacked a summary at the start clearly explaining its purpose to address the area’s current “weak infrastructure”, such as roads.

He said:

“The purpose of this document is not made clear and totally avoids the heart of the problem in that an urban expansion is being proposed in a part of Harrogate with a weak infrastructure.

“There is no attempt at clearly stating what the problems are, and no attempt at associated analysis. HAPARA, as well as Pannal and Burn Bridge, North Rigton and Beckwithshaw Parish councils have been arguing this case for many years and there is no recognition within this document of their concerns. It is almost as if no problems exist. There needs to be a far clearer `entire West of Harrogate` context for this report.”

Mr Dziabas said that the WACG was disappointed the plan does not address how key arteries into the town, such as Otley Road, as well as country lanes around Pannal, Beckwithshaw and North Rigton, will cope with the inevitable increase in traffic.

Over 1,000 homes are set to be built on both sides of this section of Otley Road.

Mr Dziabas added:

“[Over the last eight years] there has been no improvement to the road system, many of which are country lanes, no real betterment of public transport, and little has happened on the active travel front which will only ever be a very small part of any overall solution”.

He added there needed to be “far more” in the plan about improvements to bus services.

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Secondary school places

The Stray Ferret reported this month that nearly 700 secondary school places will be needed in Harrogate and Knaresborough by 2025/26 to keep up with demand caused by new housing.

Mr Dziabas said the new homes would put further pressure on Harrogate Grammar School and Rossett School in particular.

He said:

“Whilst primary schools are covered in this document, little mention is made of secondary school places. The west of Harrogate has two busy secondary schools, and both are at or above capacity.”

Car culture

Jemima Parker, chair of Zero Carbon Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret the plan contained a “major omission” around energy for new homes, with no mention of onsite renewable energy, solar panels, small wind turbines or ground source heat pumps.

With spiralling energy costs, Ms Parker said greener homes would make people more resilient to the volatile market.

She said:

“There are pages and pages about design, but not a single mention of building design for energy-efficient homes, like passive houses. This ignores the council’s own planning policy guidance as set out in the Local Plan. We want residents’ homes to be built to zero-carbon standards now, not needing to be retrofitted later, and for low-carbon construction materials to be used.”

A passive house on Bogs Lane in Harrogate

Ms Parker believes the plan focuses too heavily on car-friendly developments.

“We are saddened to see that the plan still has a car culture, reliant on private ownership rather than shared transport and active travel. Given the location on the West of Harrogate we would like to see an imaginative ‘work from home’ settlement, picking up on the 15-minute neighbourhoods seen in other UK towns with plenty of access to car clubs.

“Overall it is disappointing the west of Harrogate may miss out on the opportunity to be designed appropriately both to reduce its carbon footprint and to be resilient to our changing climate.”

Council’s response

The draft plan is still to be ratified by the council.

A council spokesperson said:

“The development of west Harrogate provides an exciting opportunity to deliver quality place-making, a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“Once approved, the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan will create clear goals and objectives by identifying what infrastructure is required. For example, first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities.

“A number of suggestions have already helped shaped the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan and I’d like to thank those local residents groups and parish councils for their valuable feedback.”

Talks today about 4,000 new homes in west Harrogate

Harrogate Borough Council officers will meet residents groups and parish councils today to discuss the long awaited West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.

The plan describes the infrastructure requirements associated with up to 4,000 new homes due to be built in the western arc of Harrogate.

A draft version of the delayed plan has now been published and circulated by the council to groups including Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association, North Rigton Parish Council, Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council and Zero Carbon Harrogate. The Stray Ferret has also been sent the document.

At over 100 pages long, the document paints a broad brush vision of how the area will be transformed by new housing.

It includes proposals for two new primary schools and a possible new GP surgery — which have been previously announced.

Howard West, chair of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret the plan lacked detail on addressing traffic and congestion.

He added:

“The parameters plan draft is in nice developer-speak but there’s no answer to the problems arising from building 4,000 homes around Harrogate’s western arc.”

Hapara and Zero Carbon Harrogate both said they would comment on the plan after today’s meeting.

Hapara previously said it was unhappy about the level of consultation offered to residents by the council during the process.

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Beset by delays

The council initially said the parameters plan would be published in October 2020. But it was delayed until March 2021, then September 2021.

The draft plan is still to be ratified by the council.

A council spokesperson said:

“The development of west Harrogate provides an exciting opportunity to deliver quality place-making, a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“Once approved, the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan will create clear goals and objectives by identifying what infrastructure is required. For example, first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities.

“A number of suggestions have already helped shaped the WHPP and I’d like to thank those local residents groups and parish councils for their valuable feedback.”

Controversial 200-home Pannal Ash scheme approved

Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee has voted to approve Homes England‘s plan to build 200 homes on the site of the former police training centre in Harrogate.

Councillors debated the application for almost three hours today with discussion focused on traffic congestion and the loss of a football pitch on the site.

Seven voted in favour, three against and John Mann, whose Harrogate Pannal ward would be affected by the scheme, abstained.

Homes England, which is the government housing agency, had permission to build 161 homes on the Yew Tree Lane site but wanted to increase this by 23% to 200 homes by building on the pitch.

The planning committee voted in June against a recommendation to approve the application.

Instead it deferred the scheme pending publication of the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan, which will assess transport and infrastructure needs associated with wider plans to build up to 4,000 homes on the western side of Harrogate.

Councillors were told a draft version of the parameters plan would not be published until February 2022.

However, this time they decided to approve the housing scheme, with a representative of Homes England suggesting it would consider legal action if the application was deferred again.

More to follow on this story

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