North Yorkshire Council submits development plan for new 4,000-home town between Harrogate and York ahead of examination

The potential 4,000-home town and two primary schools would be constructed near the villages of Cattal, Whixley, Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton.

The council says the draft document “sets a clear and ambitious thirty-year vision” for Maltkiln.

It includes details of the site’s boundaries, how the scheme will be developed alongside local transport infrastructure and how homes will be built to combat the effects of climate change.

During the examination, the inspector will hold public sessions where residents can make representations about the plans.

They will send a report to the council recommending whether or not it can adopt the plan, if it’s legally sound and if any modifications are needed.

The council says it will be prepared to use compulsory purchase orders (CPO) to secure the land needed to build the homes.

Councillor Arnold Warkenen (Green – Ouseburn) said he hopes residents will raise any concerns they might have regarding the proposals during the public examination.

All information regarding the examination, including dates for any hearing sessions, will be published on North Yorkshire Council’s website at a later date.

Councillor Warneken said: “I still have serious concerns about its deliverability and viability, relying including land that is not available and thus using CPOs is fundamentally wrong.

“There is still no agreement with Network Rail which is required to make this so-called exemplar in sustainability and environmental terms.

“Residents need to raise concerns that they have raised with me with the inspector, a major concern is the infrastructure and at what point in the potential development this will all be put in place another is the lack of a commitment to affordable housing and also the document does not include from the outset plans for a secondary school.”

The draft DPD is available to read here by visiting https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/documents/s26263/Appendix%201%20Reg19_Pre-Submission_New_Settlement_Maltkiln_DPD_October_2022.pdf