A new home for Harrogate Borough Council‘s nursery could be bought by the authority if a proposal is accepted next week.
The council’s cabinet is set to approve plans to buy the land to relocate its Harlow Hill nursery — but the location remains under wraps.
Details of the proposed piece of land and its cost have not been revealed as the council argues they are commercially sensitive. However, documents published ahead of the meeting next Wednesday say the ward affected by the proposed purchase is Hampsthwaite and Killinghall.
The ward covers both villages, along with land to the south across Penny Pot Lane and down to the northern edge of Beckwithshaw.
The report by commercial and transformation officer Jennie Atherton said:
“Whilst the agreed value is slightly over the asking price, this is proportionate as the transfer would not be subject to an overage clause. This provides security for the council moving forward with the proposed development or an alternative use.
“Furthermore, the difference in value price secures the preferred site that could facilitate future operational needs of the horticultural nursery and enable the service to develop and maximise commercial opportunity including targets to bring net costs to zero and payback the capital investment in full.”
Harrogate Borough Council’s current nursery was described in the report as “no longer fit for purpose”. It was included in the local plan as a site for residential development and the council has agreed to invite expressions of interest in the site.
It has said any sale would be conditional on a new nursery site being available first.
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Next week’s decision would allow officers to proceed with site searches and stage one of the Royal Institute of British Architects‘ eight-phase plan of work for delivering projects.
While the purchase of the site could complete before Harrogate Borough Council is replaced by the new unitary North Yorkshire Council in April, work to develop the new nursery is likely to take longer.
The report said:
“The business case demonstrates that building a modern facility on a new site is the better value option with the potential for significant growth and opportunity.
“It is anticipated that the development and construction of the new nursery will be financed by a combination of several elements: capital investment funding, capital receipt from the sale of the existing Harlow Hill site, and nursery revenue and commercial opportunity.
“Note that whilst sufficient funding is approved within the Harrogate Borough Council capital investment programme to cover the purchase of the land and initial RIBA stage, further funding would need to be agreed once the authority has transitioned to North Yorkshire Council for subsequent RIBA development stages and the actual build of the new facility.”