‘It’s more like a small town’: Fears over 1,100-home Harrogate plan
‘Too many things will be affected by a housing development of this size in this location’
Plans to build 1,100 homes on a single site on Harrogate’s rural outskirts have sparked “grave concerns” at a meeting of the town council.
The comments followed a presentation by Hallam Land representatives outlining early plans for Burley Bank, a proposed development between Skipton Road and Killinghall that could see around 100 homes built each year from 2030 to 2042, if approved.
The land management company, which partners with landowners to steer proposed developments through the planning system, told the meeting of the council’s planning and regulatory committee that the aim was to create a “mixed use sustainable urban extension”.
The plans for the site between Burley Bank Road and Oaker Bank include a new primary school, a local centre with shops and services, and a small employment area next to Saltergate Business Park.
Hallam Land said it expected 40 per cent of the homes to be affordable housing, with 40 per cent of the Burly Bank site retained as open space, including trees and hedgerows.
The company said it was consulting local groups and authorities on plans for education, employment, the environment, sustainability, access, transport and connectivity. It would also send 5,000 leaflets to residents around Burley Bank on Friday, outlining the proposals.
Councillors acknowledged the work Hallam Land had already put into developing its proposals for what could be one of Harrogate’s biggest housing developments in a decade.
But at the meeting at Harrogate Civic Centre, attended by the Harrogate Advertiser, councillors and members of the public expressed fears over the scale of the plans and their potential impact on the wider area.
Coun John Moretta, who sits on Killinghall Parish Council’s planning committee, welcomed the presentation but questioned the size of the development and its location.
The proposed 73.8 hectare site, he pointed out, was the equivalent of of 105 football pitches and was bound to have a knock-on effect on the area round it, as well as on Killinghall, the road system and Harrogate itself.
“Too many things will be affected by a housing development of this size in this location,” said Coun Moretta.
“It will affect the education system, local services and roads in and out of Harrogate.
“It’s not a rural development, it’s more of a small town.
“Killinghall is already facing 3,200 new properties as it is, with even more coming our way.
“We have grave concerns about having a small town in our parish.
“Burley Bank is not a sustainable urban extension.”
Hallam Land specialises in strategic land promotion and helps land owners secure planning permission through the UK planning system.
Once it secures planning permission, it markets and sells the serviced land parcels to volume or bespoke housebuilders and commercial developers.
Founded in 1989 , Hallam Land does not build houses but is a subsidiary of the Henry Boot Group, one of the UK's leading land, property development and home building businesses since it was established in Sheffield in 1886.
Councillor Graham Dixon, vice-chair of Harrogate Town Council's planning and regulatory committee, said there was much to like about Hallam Land's presentation and thanked them for attending.
But, he said, he had seen for himself how people in Harrogate had "had enough" of more housing developments.
He also questioned whether Harrogate’s bus network could cope with the expansion of the town into surrounding areas.
No vote was taken at the meeting at Harrogate Town Council, as Hallam Land’s presentation was for consultation purposes in advance of the planning process itself.
Hallam Land said it now hopes to submit an application for outline planning permission for Burley Bank with North Yorkshire Council at the end of November.