Plans for huge 2,750-home village at former Harrogate district golf course recommended for refusal

The proposals for Flaxby Golf Course would include 2,750 homes, two primary schools, commercial space including a hotel, and a former train station being brought back into use.

But borough planning officers say the plans are "unacceptable" and have recommended them for refusal at a meeting next week.

Since 2008, a variety of plans have been floated for the abandoned golf course, with the latest proposals coming from Flaxby Park Ltd.

The company submitted an application to Harrogate Borough Council in 2017 but took a major blow when the authority did not include the proposals in its newly-adopted Local Plan.

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The council instead opted for a 3,000-home settlement on land in the Green Hammerton, Kirk Hammerton and Cattal area - a decision which Flaxby Park Ltd applied for a judicial review against.

Residents have also long campaigned against the council's preferred site, saying it will "needlessly condemn acres of rich, highly productive farming land to a concrete future".

A council document said while the Flaxby Park plans presented a "logical approach" to development, the scheme would "result in an unacceptable urban expansion".

It added: "The proposed development represents a major urban incursion into open countryside on a site that lies outside of a defined settlement within the settlement hierarchy of the district.

"Furthermore it lies outside of the broad location identified within the Local Plan within which a new settlement should be developed."

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Skelwith Leisure - which previously owned the golf course adjacent to the A1(M)/A59 - closed the site in 2014 before going into liquidation.

The company sold the land to Flaxby Park Ltd which said its plans would create a "community of neighbourhoods, each with its own character, defined by original art and landscaping."

The proposals also include retail space for restaurants and cafes, offices, health facilities, a retirement village, and would see Goldsborough Train Station brought back into use.

A decision on the proposals will be made by councillors at a meeting on Tuesday.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter