Questions remain about how an extra 480 homes near Harlow Hill will impact roads, schools and doctor’s surgeries, according to the new councillor for the area.
Homes England last week submitted plans for the development at Bluecoat Wood opposite Cardale Park.
The site covers 28 hectares of largely green fields and the homes would wrap around horticultural charity Horticap.
The proposals include new cricket and football pitches.
A mix of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses are proposed for the site. Homes England says 40% of the houses will be allocated as “affordable”.
“Fed up with housebuilding”
Michael Schofield is the Liberal Democrat councillor for Harlow & St George’s on North Yorkshire County Council, after being elected this month.
The councillor, who is also the landlord of the Shepherd’s Dog pub, claims there is “no provision” in the plans for services that residents will use.
Cllr Schofield said:
“Don’t get me wrong, the idea of playing fields and a cricket pitch is great, but you do have to think about extra traffic and infrastructure.
“There’s no provision for services. I’d like to see more planning for residents.
“Yes the homes look attractive, but there’s no clear plan for infrastructure. I don’t want them to do anything until they have one.”
Cllr Schofield said there is strong feeling locally about the scale and speed of housebuilding.
“I see residents out walking their dogs and it’s the main issue people are telling me, they are fed up of seeing building site after building site.”
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Last month, a separate application was submitted by Anwyl Land and national housebuilder Redrow Homes for 780 homes on fields opposite Bluecoat Wood on Otley Road.
At Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association‘s (Hapara) AGM in April, the group’s secretary David Siddans said residents are bracing themselves for “15 years of disruption” due to the sheer number of homes that will be built in phases around Otley Road.
Hapara has been highly critical of the delayed West Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP), a document drawn up by Harrogate Borough Council that is supposed to address the infrastructure associated with the different housing developments.
A final version of the plan has yet to be signed off by the council.
The plan will also be supplemented with an ‘infrastructure delivery document’ to nail down the infrastructure requirements in greater detail, but it’s yet to see the light of day.
‘Pause a decision’
Mr Siddans called on Harrogate Borough Council to pause any decision on Bluecoat Wood until the infrastructure delivery document is published.
He said:
“Hapara accepts that the principle of development on this site has been established through the Local Plan process, but considers it essential that the proposals are considered in the wider context of the whole western arc expansion, particularly regarding infrastructure provision, sustainability, landscape protection and adherence to net zero carbon targets.
“Low building density, high-quality design and appropriate housing mix with tree-lined streets are also matters that we will be looking at in our response. That is why no decisions should be made on this application or any of the adjacent sites until the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan is finalised, including the detail of the infrastructure delivery plan.”
Mr Siddans’s words were echoed by Cllr Howard West, chair of Beckwithshaw and Haverah Parish Council.
He said:
“The parish council’s standpoint is that the application should not even be logged, let alone considered, until the infrastructure delivery plan part of the WHPP has been finalised and approved.”
Homes England
A planning statement by Homes England says the development has been guided by the WHPP.
It says the sports pitch will be used by local schools, improving facilities for the area’s children.
On transport, it says the development will eventually link up with the Otley Road Cycle Path and an existing bus service to Cardale Park.
“The site has a good level of accessibility with Harrogate town centre, via a comprehensive network of footways and cycleways and is within a short cycling distance of Harrogate town centre.
“There are existing bus services which are accessible from the site and offer a relatively frequent level of services and Harrogate Rail Station, Hornbeam Rail Station and Pannal Rail Station which can be accessed as part of a multi-modal journey to [and] from the site.”
