Affordable housing could be built on old school site in Yorkshire village that has had no new properties in 30 years

Hambleton Council’s planning committee will consider a scheme on Thursday to demolish Ingleby Arncliffe Primary School, which closed in 2017, and replace it with an 18-home development, 11 of which are set to be affordable and three rent-to-buy properties.

The meeting comes just a month after the authority’s cabinet approved the Ingleby Arncliffe Neighbourhood Plan, which has been developed by dedicated villagers over the last decade to breathe new life into the community and avert housing developments that do not meet the needs of local residents.

Concerns over funding for the development appear to have been overcome, with an officers’ report to the meeting stating Homes England and Hambleton Council would finance the affordable homes element of the scheme.

The scheme led by housing association Beyond Housing has received 25 letters of support, highlighting that the provision of affordable and smaller houses will help attract young families to the village and give older residents the opportunity to downsize, needs illustrated by four surveys carried out over the last nine years.

One supporter wrote: “Unlike nearly every other village in the area, we have had neither council houses, bungalows or low cost housing, this is the perfect opportunity to right this historic wrong and rebalance the demographics of our village.

“I can not say strongly enough that this type of housing is needed in Ingleby for it not to become just another dormitory village.”

Nevertheless, the application has also drawn seven letters of objection, particularly over type of housing proposed.

On objector wrote: “We encourage the original idea from the community and understand the wish for people to give their family a chance to continue living in our village, however unfortunately this proposal seems to give more benefit to the building company.

“It sadly appears to be yet again one of the low-cost-max-profit developments, rather than a development with any of the original intended benefits to the village.”

However, recommending the scheme for approval, officers said the proposal would create “a high-quality residential scheme in a sustainable location.

The officers’ report concluded: “There would be significant material benefits in terms of social and economic advantages through the provision of these new additional dwellings to the village, especially the 11 affordable units.

“There would be limited visual impacts to the form and character of the village and the countryside, but this would not represent significant harm and would be outweighed by the demonstrable benefits.”