Homes England defends 1,300-home plan for Ripon barracks after concerns raised by residents and MP Julian Smith

Homes England had hailed its proposals for the redevelopment of land at Claro Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Laver Banks as the first "exciting" project under a new partnership with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) to develop vacant military land across the country.

But struck by fears the plans were progressing too quickly without their voices being heard, worried Ripon residents escalated their concerns to MP Julian Smith who last week set out a series of demands to Homes England.

It comes after the housing agency last year held a consultation to get the public’s views on the development, but Mr Smith is now calling for a “renewed round of engagement” in ways “as open as possible”.

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In a letter to Homes England, Mr Smith said: "While I understand the difficulties caused by the coronavirus situation, I would underscore the importance of the plans being considered by everyone in the community."

Homes England first revealed its proposals last year and has now published an updated master plan which details where a primary school, sports field, shops and homes for the elderly will be located at the settlement to be called Clotherholme.

The main worries from residents are around access roads to the barracks which they fear will struggle to deal with the addition of hundreds of extra vehicles.

Homes England has said it will pay for upgrades at four city centre junctions to ease congestion, but Mr Smith said there are still worries this "will not be sufficient to mitigate the increased traffic caused by the redevelopment."

Ripon City Council is also calling for a new road-link to connect Kirkby Road to Galphay Road in addition to the junction upgrades, but Homes England said its transport assessment concluded there is "no need" for any additional roads to serve the site.

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Mr Smith added: "There are further worries about bus connections as well as cycling routes to the city centre and the desire for further green transport connections to be brought into the master plan – a move which could significantly reduce traffic whilst protecting the environment."

Responding to Mr Smith's letter, Marie Kiddell, head of planning for Homes England, said: "We are committed to improving pedestrian, cycle and public transport options as part of the sustainable travel options for the site and the presentation that we will be making this week will focus on these options and will explain how improvements can be delivered as the project is developed."

Homes England is looking to submit a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council later this summer and if successful construction could start by summer 2022.

The project is expected to be completed by 2035.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter

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