Yorkshire Agricultural Society plans stables next to showground

A planning application seeking a change of use to 6.1 hectares of land off Hookstone Road, which is lies adjacent to St John Fisher Catholic High School, has been submitted by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

The Society also seeks approval from Harrogate Borough Council for the construction of a stable block featuring three stables, with associated hard-standing and perimeter fencing.

Nigel Pulling, the Society’s chief executive, said the proposal was entirely separate from the Great Yorkshire Show. Instead, the stables could be used to generate additional income to fund the Society’s charitable activities in the longer term.

Mr Pulling said: “We are reviewing all of our land use, as we do on a regular basis, and this proposal appeared to be worth spending a bit of time looking at.”

The planning documents detail that the stables would have timber doors, a black onduline roof and walls clad in weather-proof timber, making its design of a “traditional rural nature”.

No changes to the nearby road network or pedestrian access to the site are proposed.

The plot is currently listed for agricultural use but it is currently vacant and within a Special Landscape Area and designated ‘Green Wedge’. It is bordered by a popular dog walking route and a conservation area to the north, and woodland and more agricultural land to the south and west.

The planning documents state: “The proposed stables are situated an appropriate distance away from dwellings located on the surrounding roads and there is no likelihood of nuisance or harm to existing standards of residential amenity currently enjoyed at those properties as a result of the proposed development.”

It concludes: “Overall, the enclosed application presents a scheme that is appropriate to the setting and existing use of the site, with the intention to deliver a proposal of a sympathetic scale, form and massing and one that uses appropriate materials.

“The proposals can be accessed satisfactorily and existing and proposed new boundary treatment will ensure the security of the site.”

A decision on the planning application is due by early March.