New housing development in Harrogate 'sacrifices' ancient hedgerow claims angry resident

The property owner on Malham Drive said the plan for 133 houses on fields to the north of the resident’s property at Cow Dyke Farm is not a problem in principle.

But Graeme Oliver, whose views are shared by a number of households in the area, said he had enquired about the ancient hedgerow, which marks the Parish Boundary on the line West-East, when he was buying his house and was told that it was protected under Schedule II of the Hedgerow Regulation 1997.

He said he was shocked, then, when councillors last month unanimously approved the new housing development off Skipton Road last month, including the complete removal of 200m of mature hedgerow.

Mr Oliver said: “The hedge and farmers fence follow the line of the Parish Boundary, which was first shown on the full Ordnance Survey Map 1st Edition.

"The hedgerow forms part of an ancient Parish Boundary and has, therefore, been in existence before 1850.

"The Parish Boundary is still shown on the current OS Map Lower Wharfdale & Washburn Valley sheet 297 scale 1:25,000.

"The possible destruction of this ancient hedgerow is, in our opinion, an deliberate act of vandalism against ancient natural habitat for no significant gain to the new development.”

At the meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Planning Committee on Tuesday, August 25, the Chair sought confirmation from the Council's Ecology Officer that the status of the southern boundary hedgerow had been assessed.

The officer responded in the affirmative and said that the southern boundary hedgerow did not constitute an ‘important hedgerow’ under the Hedgerow Regulations because it fell below the woody species threshold the regulations set.

Planning permission for the Miller Homes housing development at Cow Dyke Farm was granted by Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors subject to a Tree Preservation Order on trees within the green corridor and along the site’s eastern site boundary, as well as the prior completion of a S106 agreement.

The committee was also advised that the development would achieve biodiversity net gain, subject to the recommended ecological measure.

But the Harrogate resident said the removal of the hedgerow would impact on the local environment and nature.

"The hedge consists of Hawthorn, Elderberry, Apple and many other native species,” said Graeme Oliver.

“It provides habitat for many birds such as Robins, Black birds, Magpie and Jay.

"in particular, there is a large colony of House Sparrows, which are on the RSPB Red List, as well as Great and Blue tits.

"During the early summer the flowering hawthorn, Elder and Blackthorn support many Butterflies and Moths.

"The hedge also supports many birds insects, butterflies and animals many of which in the UK are in seriously decline.”

The Malham Drive resident said he was also worried about his garden being overlooked by the housing development and the potential loss of privacy.

"The hedge along the north side of Malham Drive will provide the last vestige of green space,” said Mr Oliver, “while screening the new housing development, which we consider important during the building phases.

"If retained, it would be the last remnants of a green amenity when the Cow Dyke field is lost forever.”