Agenda item

Report of the Director of Community Development.

Mark Codman (Democratic Services) introduced the item and outlined the

Committee’s possible courses of actions following consideration of the petition. The

report provided a summary of the petition and some background information to

enable the Committee to debate the issue and make a recommendation.

The Chair invited Alison Hayward and Adele Laurie to introduce the petition:

“The signatories urge North Yorkshire Council to exclude all the land found at Grid ref

429829 457681, known as H2 (Land North of Knox Lane) from the new North

Yorkshire  Local Plan. The explanation for their request is set out as follows:

That the Committee considers the petition and recommends to North Yorkshire

Council that the land concerned is not included in the new NYC development plan.

The changeover from Harrogate Borough Council occurred during the collection of

signatures and this has been reflected in the titles under which the petition appears.

The petition has been prompted by the strong feelings of people who either live in the

Harrogate and Knaresborough Area, or who work in the area and are frequent

visitors to Knox hamlet and its surroundings. They treasure the peace, beauty and

recreational value of the area.

It is highlighted that although the land concerned was added to the Harrogate District

Local Plan, it has always been unsuitable for development. The site was evaluated in

the Harrogate District LDF Urban Areas Consultation – Assessment of Ste Options

Volume 1: Harrogate Town (North East) dated September 2011. Nothing of

Substance has changed since then and the following are still applicable:

·       Developments would bring an unacceptable increase in traffic on several nearby suburban junctions.

·       There is poor relationship with necessary local facilities: walking distances to five particular facilities are all greater than the accessibility requirement,

·       The Special Landscape Area and Tree Preservation Orders were noted as

constraints,

·         Regarding Conservation and Design, Ecology and Landscape, all three items were awarded a red dot, denoting and Adverse Impact or High Adverse Impacts

·         Comments from Heritage and Design HBC noted that development of this site would adversely impact on the historic environment and/or local character, and

·       Access to any development would be on an unsuitable narrow country lane.

Similarly in 2016, HBC’s Natural and Built Heritage Assessment gave the H2 site red

ratings on five out of the seven assessment criteria and amber for the other two,

meaning the site remained clearly unsuitable for development.  It is not clear why the

site was eventually included in the HBC Development Plan

adopted 2020.

In rejection of a recent planning application, the Planning Officer relied upon the

Majority of the points raised above.”

Councillor Peter Lacey proposed a motion in support of the petition, the proposal was

Seconded  by Councillor Haslam:

“In the light of concerns as have led to the repeated refusal for development on the Knox Lane (H2) site this committee supports the case for serious consideration being given to it being removed from the local plan in the next local plan and that where other sites have been repeatedly refused development due to environmental or infrastructure concerns that these sites are also considered carefully through the same process.”

Members voted to approve the motion with nine Members voting  for the motion  and

there was one abstention.

Resolved –

That the Committee notes the petition and agree that:

In the light of concerns as have led to the repeated refusal for development on the Knox Lane (H2) site this committee supports the case for serious consideration being given to it being removed from the local plan in the next local plan and that where other sites have been repeatedly refused development due to environmental or infrastructure concerns that these sites are also considered carefully through the same process.