A petition to prevent land targeted for homes in Bilton being available for development will be put before Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors next week.

North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee rejected an application by the developer Jomast to build 53 homes off Knox Lane, as reported by the Stray Ferret in September 2023.

Since then, residents have submitted a 2,200-signature petition to the authority calling for the land to be protected from further development.

The Knox Community Conservation Group has called for the land to be removed from the forthcoming North Yorkshire Local Plan, which will replace the current blueprint for where development can take place.

The petition says previous site assessments conducted by Harrogate Borough Council of the Knox Lane site in 2013 and 2016 found it to be unsuitable for development because it “would have adverse or highly adverse effects on historic environment, priority habitats and/or species and landscape”.

In a report due before the area committee next week, Barry Khan, assistant chief executive at North Yorkshire Council, said a consultation on “issues and options” for the Local Plan will be held later this year.

He said:

The petition will be put before the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee on Thursday (March 14).

Councillors will be asked to respond formerly to the petition.

Read More:

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• 1,000 sign petition to protect Bilton’s Knox Lane from housing