Developer warns residents after submitting plan to build 130 homes on farmland in North Yorkshire village

Persimmon Homes said as the 3.9-hectare site off Gatherley Road, Brompton-on-Swale and nearby land “benefits” from having planning consents for up to 250 homes which were passed a decade ago, there would be nothing to prevent a far larger estate being built.

Documents submitted by the firm to Richmondshire District Council state the developer now wanted to build 127 two, three and four bedroom properties, meeting the area’s 40 per cent affordable housing target with 51 affordable homes.

However, five years after outline planning permission was granted in 2011 for 250 homes and a primary school, a separate scheme for 32 homes was given consent, with the council’s planners stating the 250 homes plans was unlikely to come into fruition as the main access for the larger site was through the new plot.

At the time, residents questioned whether the site was appropriate for a housing development stating there were few facilities to support a community, with the nearest bus stop almost a mile from the site, while the village school was also over a mile away and overcrowded.

As part of the planning process the firm said it consulted with residents by last December delivering leaflets illustrating what could be expected with the proposals to 143 homes. Despite the proposal being classed as a major plan, just 17 residents responded to the leaflets.

A report about the consultation concludes that “by far one of the most common concerns with the proposed development is the potential impact it will have upon Gatherley Road”.

The developers responded saying a transport study had forecast that queues on each approach to the Station Road junction could be safely accommodated without impacting upon the surrounding highway network.

It states the transport assessment it commissioned found the development “will not have a severe impact upon the surrounding highway network”.

The document states: “We acknowledge residents may have concern in regard to increased vehicular travel nearby as a result of the development. However, the development and subsequent mitigation on the junction at Gatherley Road will in fact have a positive impact on future junction capacity.”

Residents also raised concerns with the impact of the development upon the estate beside the proposed site, Augusta Gardens.

The document states: “Residents have commented that they feel that the number of units are too many for the site. Currently the country however is in the midst of a housing crisis following many years of under-delivery.”

The developers said to boost their supply of housing, the council had identified a need to deliver 180 new homes per year within the district between 2012 and 2028. They said the proposal for 127 homes was “appropriate to accommodate the future housing requirements for the area”.

The papers state the previous planning consents for the site put the developers “in a strong fallback position” as they could start building there without needing further planning permission, the principle of residential development on this site has previously been accepted.

The developers state: “Crucially, there are no planning, commercial or technical constraints that would prevent this extant consent from being completed; this new application is simply to seek consent for the developer’s preference in terms of the site layout and housing mix.”