Harrogate residents groups to see plans for dealing with thousands of new homes as Parameters Plan end game nears

There's high hopes that worried residents groups will get to see long-awaited plans to mitigate the impact of a massive  house-building threat on the western side of Harrogate by the end of next month.
There are plans for thousands of new homes on the western side of  Harrogate before 2035, including this one for Yew Tree Lane at Pannal Ash.There are plans for thousands of new homes on the western side of  Harrogate before 2035, including this one for Yew Tree Lane at Pannal Ash.
There are plans for thousands of new homes on the western side of Harrogate before 2035, including this one for Yew Tree Lane at Pannal Ash.

Planners at Harrogate Borough Council have drawn up a schedule for preparing the draft version of the West Harrogate Parameters Plan - or WHPP - to identify the infrastructure and traffic requirements of as many as 4,000 new homes set to be built by 2035.

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Working collaboratively with the developers of sites in West Harrogate to prepare the WHPP, the council is set to meet with relevant councillors, stakeholders and parish councils from as early as next week.

This will be of particular interest to groups in the areas most affected by housing - Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association and Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council who are concerned at the impact of housing developments on traffic congestion.

HAPARA is calling for investment to be made in greater frequency of buses, road junction improvements, the widening of pavements and more cycle paths on the western side of Harrogate sooner rather than later.

Coun Tim Myatt, Harrogate Borough Council member for the High Harrogate ward and cabinet member for planning, said: “We will be sending the draft West Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP) to councillors on the District Development Committee prior to an informal meeting of that committee on Thursday, January 13.

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“The purpose of that committee meeting is for councillors to provide feedback on the draft copy.

“In the next few days the draft WHPP will also be shared with stakeholder groups who have been involved in engagement about the plan, prior to another engagement session on Thursday, January 20.

“We are hopeful that a final decision on the WHPP may be made by the end of February but that will be dependent on the outcome of the engagement sessions.”

Working with North Yorkshire County Council and other infrastructure providers, Harrogate Borough Council first started work on the WHPP in May 2020.

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Although there is no requirement for public consultation, both the borough council and the county council have engaged with local parish councils, residents associations and Harrogate council’s District Development Committee from the early stages.

A Brief Guide to why the West Harrogate Parameters Plan matters...

The West Harrogate Parameters Plan will offer guidance to facilitate the co-ordinated delivery of infrastructure required by housing developments in the Pannal Ash and Pannal areas.

The WHPP will:

Provide design principles to guide planning applications;

Summarise the infrastructure required and the mechanisms to ensure delivery.