Residents join planning workshop

A group of 120 residents of all ages from Harrogate and Knaresborough has been invited to the planning workshop at the Royal Hall, Harrogate.

They will be asked to give their views on where the new affordable and open market homes should be built in the two towns.

The event is part of a plan to address the critical lack of affordable housing in the Harrogate district which has prompted the council to set a target of building 390 new dwellings every year up to 2023-24 to try and provide homes at a price tag which is affordable to local people.

Tim Richards, head of planning at Harrogate Council, said: "We want them to put themselves in the planners' shoes and we will be taking their suggestions very seriously.

"We have never done an event like this before and it is a brilliant way of involving residents in the planning process."

The council launched a major public consultation across the district's rural areas last month where 1,500 homes are to be built.