County council says Bilton housing scheme ‘should be refused’

North Yorkshire County Council has said the layout of a 53-home development in Bilton is ‘not acceptable’ and the plan should be refused unless the developer agrees to pay for the widening of Knox Lane.

North East firm Jomast wants to build the homes on a field on Knox Lane in an application that has been reduced from 73 homes.

The county council, which is in charge of the Harrogate district’s roads, has submitted a response to the application as part of the consultation process.

It warned the development does not comply with standards it sets around roads and new housing schemes.

The section of Knox Lane where the homes would be built is narrow and leads towards a popular beauty spot.

Residents have long argued the road is unsuitable for any extra traffic the homes would bring but the developer’s transport report concluded the development would not lead to congestion.

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Paul Roberts, the county council’s highways officer, wrote to Harrogate Borough Council last week and said the development should be refused unless changes are made to Knox Lane as well as private roads within the site.

He wrote:

“The highway authority therefore advise that the application should be refused unless further information is provided by the developer. The layout of the site is not acceptable and will need to be amended to comply with the highway authority guidance/standards.”

Mr Roberts said Knox Lane should be widened to 5.5 metres with a two-metre footpath.

He added:

“This work shall be implemented as part of the project and if the application is approved implemented under a S278 agreement with the highway authority which the authority may wish to lead on.”

Residents’ concerns

The Stray Ferret met a group of Bilton residents in February who raised their concerns about the development and its impact on local roads.

With the busy Skipton Road nearby, and Knox Lane itself a narrow thoroughfare, Bob Wrightson said the roads surrounding the development would soon be gridlocked.

Mr Wrightson said:

“Fifty-two houses — a lot of people have cars, which has not been addressed. There might be another 100 cars using these roads and it will be gridlock.”

In February, Jomast and planning consultants Spawforths issued the following joint statement to the Stray Ferret:

“The planning application is supported by a number of specialist technical reports, including a transport assessment, which demonstrates the proposed development would not lead to any additional congestion of the local roads.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee will decide on the application.

Residents say 53 homes at Knox Lane will ‘decimate’ idyllic scene

On Knox Lane in the summer and you’ll probably see families walking or on bicycles heading down towards Spruisty Bridge that runs over Oak Beck.

It’s a green corner of Bilton that residents cherish but a group in Knox believes a controversial housing application would destroy the idyllic scene.

North East property developer Jomast wants to build 53 homes on a field on Knox Lane, in an application that has been reduced from 73 homes from when it was first submitted in 2020.

Since the 1980s, different developers have eyed the field for development without success, thanks in part to campaigns by dogged residents.

This time, as the site is allocated in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, which maps out where new housing developments can take place in Harrogate, it could be their biggest fight yet.

A map of where the homes would be built

Abundance of wildlife

Tom Cox has lived in the area for 50 years. A keen nature watcher, he says he’s seen an abundance of wildlife in the field, including protected species. He’s concerned their habitat will be destroyed.

He said:

“I’ve seen deer, foxes, otters and 60 types of birds. It’s extremely good habitat”.

Sue Wrightson added:

“It will be decimated”.

Jomast commissioned an ecological impact assessment by environmental consultants Naturally Wild.

To the residents’ dismay, its report said the site had “moderate ecological value” and any development would “not have a significant impact on protected species or habitat.”

At the time of writing, the application has had 308 objections with none in support. They cite a range of perceived problems with the site, from the electricity pylons that run over the field to potential flooding issues.

But many of the objections make emotional appeals to the council calling on them to reject the plans due to what they believe is its harmful impact on wildlife.

The walk at the bottom of Knox Lane is popular with families.

With the residents smarting about the Naturally Wild report, they paid ecological consultants Smeedem Foreman to write another one, which painted a different picture.

It said the Naturally Wild report was undertaken between January and April, which it called “sub-optimal” months for surveying wildlife.

It added:

“The report lacks sufficient detail with respect to the mapping of habitats present and with no detailed species lists available, the botanical value of these areas has the potential to be underestimated.”

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Gridlock

As with almost every application for new housing in Harrogate, concerns have been raised about traffic.

With the busy Skipton Road nearby, and Knox Lane itself a narrow thoroughfare, Bob Wrightson said the roads surrounding the development will soon be “gridlock”.

Mr Wrightson said:

“52 houses, a lot of people have cars, its not been addressed. There might be another 100 cars using these roads and it will be gridlock.”

Jomast’s traffic assessment disputes this and says the homes will not lead to additional congestion.

Alison Hayward said the application is car-dependent and does nothing to encourage people to use sustainable travel.

“There are no EV charging points, no cycle paths, no cycle storage. The development is stuck in the 1980s, it looks back rather than looking forward.”

The community

Perhaps most of all, the residents are unhappy that there has been no attempt by Jomast to form a dialogue with them. They say their voice has been left out of the planning process entirely.

Ms Hayward said:

“It’s bothered a lot of people. They’ve not made an effort and we’ve beem ignored. We emailed the developer for a meeting but we’ve had no response.

Anda Mesaros added:

“It’s disrespectful to the community.”

The developer’s response

Jomast and planning consultants Spawforths issued the following joint statement to the Stray Ferret:

“Jomast recognises the concerns of the local residents in respect to the potential impacts of the proposed housing development.  However they would like to stress that the Application Site is allocated for housing within Harrogate’s Local Plan.  Therefore, it has already been deemed as suitable for residential development by Harrogate Council.  The planning application is providing a significant amount of affordable housing, above what is required by planning policy, which will help address the significant shortfall of this type of housing within the town.

“The planning application is supported by a number of specialist technical reports, including a Transport Assessment, which demonstrates the Proposed Development would not lead to any additional congestion of the local roads.  Jomast has also commissioned a series of ecological reports, which show that the Proposed Development would deliver a net benefit to biodiversity and the environment through the creation of new wildlife habitats and significant tree and hedgerow planting.

“Two public exhibitions have been carried out in respect to the development of the Site.   In addition, Harrogate Council consulted local residents on the allocation of the site for housing during the preparation of their Local Plan.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee is set to consider the plans next month

Bilton homes would be ‘catastrophic’ for environment, residents say

A controversial 73-home development in Bilton would clog already busy roads with traffic and be ‘catastrophic’ for local wildlife, residents say.

The development at Knox Lane has had 222 objections. The formal consultation period for the houses was extended until Monday June 22 due to coronavirus.

Developer Jomast and Leeds-based architects Spawforths are behind the plans, which would see a mix of 1,2,3 and 4-bedroom homes built with 130 car parking spaces and new open public space.

As well as concerns over the environment and transport, residents said the development would effectively remove a valued green space and join Bilton and Knox together.

One resident told the Stray Ferret that the fields are currently home to several animals including deer and badgers.

“The local residents are distraught and can’t believe it’s happening. It would be catastrophic for the local environment.”

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Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Old Bilton Councillor Paul Haslam raised concerns over the number of homes proposed.

The site is designated as a site for development in Harrogate’s Local Plan, which was adopted in March. However, the plan identifies 52 potential homes for the site Jomast’s proposals include an extra 21 homes on land that is not designated in the Plan.

Cllr Haslam said:

“The Local Plan contains more than enough houses and there should be no need to build more.

“The extra area was deliberately left out of the Local Plan because it is prone to flooding.”

Jomast and Spawforths issued a joint statement to the Stray Ferret:

It said:

“The Planning Application has been carefully considered and is supported by a suite of technical reports including an Ecological Impact Assessment, trees reports, and a Landscape Visual Impact Assessment. These specialist reports demonstrate that the proposed development would not have a significant impact on the local environment.

“The planning application is supported by a Transport Assessment (TA) which has been produced by the Transport Consultant’s Fore.   The TA looked at the amount of traffic generated by the Proposal and concluded the traffic impacts associated with the development are limited.

“At peak times, the proposed development would result in fewer than 40 vehicles per hour in both directions on Knox Lane.  Therefore the changes in traffic flows associated with the development would not represent a significant impact on the operation of the highway network.”