The deepening split over tidal wave of new housing plans in west Harrogate

New Harrogate masterplan to cope with massive wave of housing in Pannal Ash and Pannal areas

The West Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP) drawn up by Harrogate Borough Council in liaison with housing developers and other relevant local authorities may be 162 pages long and identify sites for new primary schools, new cycle paths and extra bus routes in the areas affected by development between Otley Road and Pannal.

But that has not stopped members of the Western Arc Coordination Group from condemning the long-awaited draft version of this lengthy masterplan as an inadequate answer to a set of problems likely to be bigger than the report assumes.

As well as the insufficient attention, they argue, has been given in the West Harrogate Parameters Plan to the need for more secondary school places, better roads and environmentally-friendly house designs, groups such as Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association, Pannal & Burn Bridge Parish Council, Beckwithshaw Parish Council, Zero Carbon Harrogate and Duchy Residents’ Association, say they are shocked by the short time frame involved.

They claim the scheduled “signing off” by Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet on February 22 is simply too soon.

Rene Dziabas, chair of HAPARA, said: The draft WHPP is a lost opportunity to tackle the infrastructure issues afflicting the west of Harrogate.

The plan totally avoids the heart of the problem.

"The reality is that the western part of Harrogate will be expected to absorb nearly 4,000 new dwellings.

“What is being implied in the Parameters Plan will not tackle the scale of expansion.”

"We have requested that the date be delayed to line up with when the Infrastructure Delivery Schedule Schedule dealing with roads and traffic is produced in May.”

Jemima Parker, chair of Zero Carbon Harrogate, added that residents across the district would pay a “high price” for what she said was the Parameters Plan’s lack of carbon reduction measures ands that the timetable is too fast for such a big issue.

She said: “The idea of adopting the Parameters Plan by February 22 seems totally unrealistic, and indicates that the important points that have been raised in this consultation are unlikely to be taken seriously in the final version of the plan.”

But Harrogate Borough Council says it had no statutory requirement to consult local groups on the plan they had long been calling for, a plan which has been drawn up in consultation with North Yorkshire County Council, Anwyl Land, Banks Group, Edington Hall & Families, Gladman Developments Ltd, Homes England and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Furthermore, the council adds, the rules mean it has no powers to enforce or enact the sort of measures that residents groups want to see happen; that was not even what the Parameters Plan was meant to achieve.

WHPP is a guidance document and is not a Supplementary Planning Document or Development Plan Document (DPD).

Planning matters will still go through the normal planning process on the western side of Harrogate.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said: “The West Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP) is a high-level masterplan 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.

“Many of the community stakeholders – who have publically 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, which was circulated in the first week of January.

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

“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.”

What the Western Arc Coordination Group says

The parish councils and residents groups which make up the Western Arc Coordination Group (WACG) in Harrogate say the new masterplan on the infrastructre meant to deal with the impact of thousands of new homes from Otley Road to Pannal is flawed and inadequate.

Formed in 2020 to raise local residents’ concerns over the impact of the coming population explosion on traffic congestion and schools, in particular, having seen the West Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP) formulated by Harrogate Borough Council the group’s fears have, if anything, grown.

They claim the WHPP report appears to be focussed on aiding housing developers rather than residents.

Some of the main points in their response to the draft version of the West Harrogate Parameters Plan are:

The WHPP makes reference is made to 2,000 dwellings planned for the west of Harrogate. This is totally wrong.

The reality is that the western part of Harrogate will be expected to absorb nearly 4,000 dwellings and while, it is appreciated that financial apportionments cannot be made against sites that already have planning permission, this does not make the overall problem go away.

The Parameters Plan simply does not address the anticipated traffic/congestion likely to be generated by the significant urban expansion being proposed for the western side of the town.

Having taken part in a ‘stakeholder engagement on the WHPP with the council, itcomplains that by leaving changes to the existing road system for an, as yet, unfinished separate report called the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP), the WHPP does not address the core problem.

Whilst primary schools are covered in the WHPP 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.

When it comes to house building, the report largely deal with design and aesthetics. It does makes reference to the Future Homes Standard with the stated intention that this new standard will produce a 75-80% reduction in the carbon footprint.

But this will not be introduced until 2025 and the reality of is that the housing sites are all likely to have some form of planning before the Future Homes Standard comes into play, meaning that everything will be the subject of retrofit work. This will let the developers off the hook.

What Zero Carbon Harrogate says

Zero Carbon Harrogate has always been keen to argue for a green future in a spirit of cooperation.

Formed in 2016, this voluntary organisation has become a member of the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, initially launched by Harrogate Borough Council, and, also the Western Arc Coordination Group representing parish and residents in the west of Harrogate.

Zero Carbon Harrogate’s four main concerns are:

There is no recognition of the Harrogate Borough Council 2038 zero carbon target and no carbon accounting in the plans - considering how much carbon will be emitted in the building stage, for homes from heating and lighting and residents’ car use;

There are pages and pages about design, but not a single mention of building design for energy efficient homes.

There is a major omission around energy for the new homes. There is no mention of onsite renewable energy generation such as solar panels, small wind turbines or ground source heat pumps;

The WHPP still has a car culture, reliant on private ownership rather than shared transport and active travel.

What Harrogate Borough Council says

When the publication of the West Harrogate Parameters Plan was announced earlier this month, Coun Tim Myatt, Harrogate Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, hailed the hard-won document, which has taken more than a year-and-a-half to produce, as providing an “example of true place-making”.

Coun Myatt said: “The plan views development in West Harrogate as a whole, rather than multiple sites brought forward by different developers.

"Instead, the WHPP aims to provide infrastructure at the same time as new homes, creating real communities with homes close to the services residents need.

“That’s why the WHPP sets out locations for new school provision, commercial buildings, sports facilities and public space.

He continued: “It also plans for green infrastructure and sustainable travel routes throughout the sites, enabling easy movement to local services.

“Once the plan is in place it will be an example of true place-making.”

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