Plans revealed for 170 homes on agricultural land in North Yorkshire

The application, submitted on behalf of Keepmoat Homes Ltd and Beckwith Knowle Developments Ltd, seeks full planning permission for a residential scheme on approximately 7.4 hectares of land to the northwest of the town, close to the A167 and the East Coast Main Line railway.

According to planning documents prepared by architects IDPartnership, the development would comprise of a mix of one- to four-bedroom homes, including quarter houses, terraced, semi-detached and detached properties.

The proposed layout has been designed to “respond to both the site’s constraints and opportunities”, a planning application says.

Existing trees and hedgerows would be retained where possible, with a landscaped buffer created along the western edge of the site to separate new homes from the railway line.

This area would also contribute to biodiversity, alongside features such as new planting, wildlife corridors, hedgehog runs and bird boxes.

Access to the development would be taken from the existing Darlington Road and North Moor Road roundabout, with a network of new streets, footpaths and cycle routes running through the site. A public right of way, which currently crosses the land, would be diverted through the development to maintain connectivity for pedestrians.

Developers say the scheme has been shaped to promote healthy and active lifestyles, with green spaces, sustainable drainage features, and routes linking to nearby facilities, including a proposed neighbourhood centre east of Darlington Road.

Northallerton town centre is around 1.1 kilometres away, while bus stops and rail connections are also within reach.

Most of the homes would be two storeys, with a small number of two-and-a-half-storey properties placed along key streets and public spaces. A limited number of single-storey bungalows are proposed in the north-eastern part of the site to provide housing choice for different needs.

The land was previously allocated mainly for employment use under the former Hambleton Local Plan and has an existing hybrid planning permission. However, the applicants state that rising infrastructure costs and limited demand for employment space have made that scheme unviable, prompting the revised residential-only proposal.

If approved, the development would represent a significant addition to Northallerton’s affordable housing stock, with the applicants describing it as a “landscape-led scheme designed to create a high-quality, integrated neighbourhood at one of the town’s key gateway locations”.

The application will now be considered by North Yorkshire Council’s planning officers, with local residents and stakeholders invited to comment as part of the consultation process.

For the latest public notices from your area, please visit: https://publicnoticeportal.uk/