New town with 3,000 homes could get just 20% affordable housing

The proportion of affordable homes to be built at Harrogate’s biggest development in decades could be just 20 per cent.

Maltkiln is a 3,000-home settlement planned for the Hammerton and Cattal area.

It aims to play a major role in addressing the district’s housing need by providing “much-needed homes and jobs in a sustainable location”.

But a newly-published development plan document from Harrogate Borough Council states that the number of homes to be classed as affordable is “anticipated to be within a range of 20 to 40 per cent”.

The council’s target for affordable homes at all new housing sites is 40 per cent.

It said achieving this figure at Maltkiln will be “challenging” as the development needs to be financially viable.

Yet the council also admits the affordability of homes is a “key issue” that needs to be addressed as Harrogate remains as one of the most unaffordable places to live in England.

High house prices

Average house prices in the district are around 11 times average incomes, forcing many people out of the area.

The Maltkiln document states:

“Whilst we want to strive to deliver as much affordable housing as possible, an element of flexibility will also be required.

“This is explicitly acknowledged in the justification to the affordable housing policy where delivery is anticipated to be within a range of 20% to 40%.”

The document also said this range is “not out of step” with other large housing settlements elsewhere in the UK “where figures of 15 per cent, 25 per cent and 35 per cent have been set”.

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But councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group on the council, said the authority should be aiming for at least its own 40 per cent target in order to provide homes for those most in need.

She also said that during the creation of the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, her party’s vision for Maltkiln was an “eco-village” which is not car dependent and has many community facilities.

Cllr Marsh said:

“That eco-village had to be in a sustainable place and therefore the area around the Hammertons with two rail halts seemed an ideal place.

“Once taken up and accepted as the new settlement site, there has been a need to ensure all the right infrastructure is in place to serve the existing and new community.

“This includes schools including a secondary school, shops, open spaces and sports pitches. Also, that the houses built would be carbon neutral.

“Added to that the requirement of 40 per cent affordable homes which is very important and we should not consider the delivery of less.”

Flaxby rejected

The Hammerton and Cattal area was chosen as the location for the huge housing plans after rival proposals for 2,750 homes on the former Flaxby Golf Course were rejected by the council in a decision which led to a legal challenge from the developers.

The proposals for Maltkiln include two primary schools and land for a secondary school, as well as shops, employment space and a GP surgery which will be centred around the train station.

The council said it chose this location due to its transport links with the York-Harrogate-Leeds railway line and the A59.

It also said this location will “steer development away” from nearby residents who previously warned the housing plans will be “utterly devastating” for surrounding villages.

A six-week consultation on the development plan document is planned for October when residents will be asked to share their views on areas including roads and public transport.

After this, the document will then be submitted to the government for public examination.

Two primary schools planned for new 3,000-home Harrogate district settlement

Two primary schools and land for a secondary school form part of proposals for a new 3,000-home village between Harrogate and York.

The settlement, to be named Maltkiln, will be built in the Hammerton and Cattal area. New details of the major scheme have been revealed this week.

A development plan document from Harrogate Borough Council shows there are proposals for two 420-place primary schools – one of which would be able to expand with room for 630 pupils.

The plan also said because the village is not large enough to “generate sufficient pupils” for a secondary school, around £10.5 million would be provided to fund an expansion of 11 new classrooms at Boroughbridge High School.

However, it added that land within Maltkiln has been designated for “future secondary provision should this be required in the future”.

The plan said: 

“The council has been working with the education authority, North Yorkshire County Council, in order to identify the educational infrastructure required to support the level of growth proposed in Maltkiln.

“NYCC have indicated that the development is not projected to generate sufficient numbers of pupils to warrant the need for a secondary school on-site.

“Nevertheless, for the proper and long-term planning of the area, the council consider a cautious approach should be taken and have safeguarded land for a secondary school if it is needed.”

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It is estimated that more than 8,000 residents will occupy the village, which may not be completed until at least 2038.

A six-week consultation on the development plan document is planned for October, when residents will be asked to share their views on areas including roads and public transport.

After this, the document will then be submitted to the government for public examination.

Maltkiln is centred around Cattal train station which links York, Harrogate and Leeds – and Harrogate Borough Council hopes this location will “steer development away” from residents living in surrounding villages who have objected to the proposals.

The council also said facilities including shops, employment space and a GP surgery should be built around this central location.

It said: 

“A new community of over 8,000 residents will generate a need for significant new local facilities and these should be located at the heart of the settlement directly adjacent to Cattal railway station.

“The mixed-use local centre will provide a diverse and vibrant space at the heart of Maltkiln.”

A meeting of the council’s cabinet will be held next Wednesday when senior councillors will be asked to agree to the launch of the consultation on the development plan document.

A report to the meeting said the publication of the plan is a “key milestone” and that once approved it will provide “a 30 year vision for Maltkiln”.

The report added: 

“The development plan document provides the starting point to guide the development and delivery of Maltkiln.

“Proposals will need to go through the planning application process and there will be further opportunities for communities and stakeholders to be involved in more detailed master-planning.

“The council is also exploring a range of governance and stewardship options to ensure that residents will have a say in how community facilities are run.”

New 3,000 home settlement in Harrogate district to be called Maltkiln

Formal consultation is set to begin on a proposed new 3,000-house settlement in the Harrogate district.

The settlement, which will be larger than the town of Boroughbridge, will be built in the Hammerton and Cattal area of the district, close to York.

Harrogate Borough Council said in a news release today it was “finalising its policies and proposals for the new settlement” following earlier stages of consultation.

Its executive will consider a development plan document, which will set out the boundary for the settlement and other details, on Wednesday next week before it goes out for formal consultation.

It added:

“The development of a new settlement is a key part of the district’s growth strategy providing much needed homes and jobs in a sustainable location along the York-Harrogate-Leeds railway line.”

Wetherby real estate developer Oakgate Group earmarked the area to be known as Maltkiln for 3,000 homes in 2017.

It submitted a screening application to assess whether it needed to conduct an environmental impact assessment before submitting a formal planning application.

Cllr Tim Myatt, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for planning, said today: 

“The development plan document sets a clear and ambitious 30-year vision for Maltkiln and provides a policy framework that will enable the planning authority to lead, guide and manage how it is developed.”

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As part of the plan, the council also commissioned consultants at a cost of £20,000 to produce a “comprehensive climate strategy” for the settlement.

The council said that Maltkiln would be planned in a way which would help to to meet net-zero carbon emissions by 2038.

It said this would mean reducing the need to travel, providing walking and cycling infrastructure and improvements to public transport as well as supporting the transition to low emission private cars.

Cllr Myatt added:

“Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing us today and one that the council takes seriously which is why we have commissioned a climate change strategy to ensure Maltkiln will be a climate resilient place, fit for the 21st Century.”

If councillors agree the plan next week, a consultation on the development plan will be held in the autumn. It would then be submitted to the secretary of state for examination.

The move to create a settlement in the Hammerton/Cattal area comes after a long running saga between Flaxby Park Ltd and the borough council.

The battle led to a High Court hearing over whether the homes should be built in Flaxby or Green Hammerton before it was finally settled in late 2020.