Councillors refuse plans to build 58 retirement homes between Harrogate and York

It was described at the Selby and Ainsty planning committee on Wednesday afternoon as being “the right scheme in the wrong location”.

The homes were proposed at Station Road by the A59 junction and developer SageHaus Living said in documents they would help meet a “significant demand” for this type of elderly accommodation in the area.

Councillors heard from former Labour MP and health minister Stephen Ladyman who is now the director of Oak Retirement, which is the company that would run the facility on behalf of SageHaus Living.

The site would not be a care home but would have on-site qualified care staff, a community hub for people to socialise and a small shop.

Mr Ladyman said older people who live in this type of development stay healthy and maintain their independence for longer.

He added: “Older people don’t want to move out of their local community into urban environments.”

The scheme had been designed as a carbon neutral development to include solar panels on the roof, heat pumps as well as efficient lighting which Mr Ladyman said would result in 90 per cent less energy use.

This led to praise from Councillor Arnold Warneken, Green Party councillor for Ouseburn, who said: “We should allow planning applications that help us save the planet.”

He also said he had heard from people in the Kirk Hammerton area who would like to work at the facility if it was approved.

But the plans were recommended for refusal by council officer Kate Broadbank due to its location which she said would be unsuitable to its village surroundings.

Ms Broadbank also criticised the scheme’s accessibility to public transport.

A bus stop on the A59 is nearby but there is no footpath, shelter or road crossing.

However, Mr Ladyman argued that residents would only have to walk five minutes to get to Hammerton railway station, which is on the busy York to Harrogate line.

Councillors sided with the officer’s recommendation and voted by four votes to two to refuse the plans.

Councillor John Cattanach, independent councillor for Cawood and Escrick, said: “I think this is the right kind of scheme we’d welcome in North Yorkshire but I don’t see it as the right location.”