Developers told to put in new roads plan

Hundreds of people had objected to outline plans to build on land in Harrogate as part of a scheme that had been described as the biggest extension to the boundaries of the North Yorkshire town for many years.

Yesterday, members of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee voted to defer a decision on outline plans put forward by Woodard Corporation, Hallam Management Ltd and Persimmon Homes to build 600 homes, a primary school and community/retail facilities at Penny Pot Lane.

Councillor Don Mackenzie, a county councillor for the Saltergate division who attended the meeting and urged members to throw out the application, said afterwards: “I am afraid that my ward residents and the wider public will be unimpressed with the unsatisfactory conclusion to the long debate.”

He said members had been warned that the applicants might appeal if approval was delayed or refused.

However the members voted for deferral and for the application to come back to them, with different highways proposals.

He added that many of those there were mystified that the application had not been rejected.

Opponents say the scale and density of the development is too great, it raises fears that local roads will not cope and the site is too far from Harrogate centre and does not have easy access to services, shops and employment.

The applicants have submitted a travel plan and a report to the committee said that the developers would be required to carry out a number of improvements including putting in traffic signals.

Officers believe that Penny Pot Lane will be able to deal with the increase in traffic.