Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Hannah Gostlow.

The minutes of the meetings held on 28 October and 25 November 2025 were agreed and signed by the Chair as a correct record

There were no declarations of interest.

The Assistant Director Planning, Community Development Services sought determination of a planning application for the construction of two dwellings on land at 12 Iles Lane, Knaresborough, HG5 8DY.

The application had been referred to Committee at the request of the Divisional Member.

The Senior Planning Officer presented the report and highlighted the site’s location and description.  Members were advised that a previous application for the site had been refused in 2021, with the reasons cited as the loss of a boundary wall and the impact on trees.  A site visit had been undertaken by Members prior to the meeting.

Providing an update to their report, the officer advised Members of the following.

· Two further representations had been received by the authority, it was confirmed that the majority of the matters raised by the first representation had already been addressed within the Committee report, with the exception of a concern that Knaresborough had already made a disproportionately high contribution to housing provision.  The officer explained that there was no planning policy which sought to balance housing between individual settlements.

· The second representation received expanded on an earlier submission which raised the following concerns: -

·  There would be a permanent change to the setting of a listed building.  The officer advised that the relationship between the listed building and the application site was already obstructed by properties at 10A and 12 Iles Lane; therefore, the proposed development would have no impact on the listed building.

· Reference had been made to the previously refused application due to the ecological value of the grassland which had existed, the use of the grassland for residential development at that time had not been opposed.     

· Due to the size of the site, consultation with Historic England (HE) was required.  The officer confirmed that the consultation had been undertaken; however, for applications of this nature, HE would normally defer to the advice of the authority’s Conservation Officer. The Conservation Officer had advised that, while there would be less than significant harm to the conservation area, the setting of the listed building would not be adversely affected.

· There was reference to the spaces being as important as the buildings in the conservation area; however, the character appraisal did not identify this land as being of any particular significance.

· The regularisation of the stone boundary wall frontage, the officer clarified that this referred to the existing gatepost. Permission had been refused in the earlier application; however, this matter was considered incidental and was not part of the application before Members.

· The location of a pond in the grounds at the listed building, the officer highlighted that there were two ponds, one of which was an active frog pond.  No evidence of great crested newts had been reported; however, should Members consider it appropriate, an informative could be attached to the application.

The Senior Planning Officer confirmed that the recommendation was for approval, but with the variation that should Historic England raise objections, the application would be referred back to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

Any other items which the Chair agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances.

There were no items of urgent business.

Tuesday, 27 January 2026 at 2.00pm.

Tuesday, 27 January 2026 at 2.00pm.