Shops and restaurant scheme set to be heard

In April it will fight its own development partner, Maple Grove Developments, over plans for a shops and restaurant scheme in Skipton.

Maple’s idea is to replace 9 High Street with a restaurant and build four new shops behind the town hall.

And in a further twist the council will be fighting over four days to uphold a decision made by councillors - against the advice of their own planning officers.

Now, the original five reasons for refusal, agreed by councillors last year, have been reduced to four following expert advice.

The council is to fight the application on the grounds that the development would lead to a significant loss of car parking and would exacerbate safety concerns on Jerry Croft.

They also claim it would also have an adverse impact on the viability and sustainability of the town centre and would visually impact on nearby listed buildings.

Chairman of the Planning Committee Richard Welch said it was unusual that the council would be going toe-to-toe with its own development partner but explained that that was sometimes how things turned out.

He said: “It probably has not happened before but we have to follow the rules and regulations and that is the way it has turned out. He agreed that the argument that the proposed development was outside the core retail area of the town would no longer be used as a refusal reason at the inquiry. Craven also claims it would also have an adverse impact on the viability and sustainability of the town centre. Fears have also been expressed about its impact on nearby listed buildings. The council is to be represented at the inquiry by London-based barrister Michael Bedford, who represented the council at last year’s public inquiry into the residential development of Elsey Croft.