Concerns remain as final decision on major Harrogate housing plan delayed yet again

Residents living in the area between Bogs Lane, Knaresborough Road and Harrogate High School - which is already facing the construction of 700 homes - will have to wait several more weeks to find out if the latest housing plans will be allowed to move forward.

The application from property developers Richborough Estates is for Kingsley Road and has now been delayed four times because of legal issues, deferrals and the coronavirus lockdown.

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The latest bump in the road on the developer's quest for planning permission came yesterday, Tuesday, when Harrogate Borough Council's planning committee deferred their decision again after raising concerns over the density of homes and the pressure it would put on the already busy roads.

During the virtual meeting councillors had been preparing a case to reject the plans until they were reminded the site has been included in the council's Local Plan which was adopted earlier this year.

A legal officer told councillors a move to scrap the plans altogether would need strong grounds if it were to stand up at appeal.

Coun Andrew Paraskos said: "If we are stuck with the sites in Local Plan we need to get the best out of them that we can.

"I think this needs to go away and be reworked especially on the numbers and the access, footpaths and cycleways - it all needs to be looked at".

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Before the meeting members of the Kingsley Ward Action Group had said it was "undemocratic" to hold a planning meeting virtually.

They also echoed their concerns that there is no suitable access to public transport near the development.

Coun Pat Marsh also repeated these worries, saying the roads will be "horrendous" if the plans are approved.

She told the committee: “It doesn’t serve any purpose for the existing community and it just brings more pain and aggravation. It adds nothing for the area other than misery for the local residents".

An agent for the developers told councillors the plans had been revised after already being scaled back from 170 to 155 homes.

He said changes have been made to the road layout and a cycleway has been added, but the revised plans still received almost 100 objections online.

The planning application will be examined again at a later date.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter

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