Kirk Hammerton

New Settlement Update

Latest Update on the New Settlement: Concerns Over North Yorkshire Council’s Revised Proposals

Last month, North Yorkshire Council’s plans for the New Settlement were put under the spotlight as they were examined by the Planning Inspectorate. In a surprising twist, the Council admitted at the eleventh hour that the proposals they submitted might not be deliverable. The reason? Yet another issue with the developer's land agreements—this time involving Johnson’s Nursery. This comes on top of the ongoing uncertainty with about half of the New Settlement land that’s already unavailable, and which the Council are threatening with compulsory purchase.

To try and salvage the plan, the Council is asking the Planning Inspector to accept some last-minute changes that seem designed to help the developer sidestep their contractual problems. Unfortunately, these changes are worrying for local residents, as they appear to alter the policies in a way that benefits the developer’s planning application—at the expense of the community.

Here’s a summary of the proposed changes:

            •         Building on the Green Gap: The developer would now be allowed to build much closer to Kirk Hammerton, reducing the protected Green Gap to just 300 meters from the village’s Conservation Area. (See Map)

            •         Cramped Development: The Council now wants to squeeze 3,100 homes onto the remaining land not affected by the potential CPO, which exacerbates concerns about flooding and biodiversity as well as about the urban character of the new settlement. 

            •         Financial Interests: Unlike the original proposal, and no doubt purely coincidentally, the new plan includes a first-phase development on the New Farm site—a site from which North Yorkshire Council stands to gain a substantial financial benefit. 

These changes seem to reflect a shift away from the original vision of a sustainable, distinct ‘exemplar’ settlement, and it’s difficult not to see them as an attempt to make the policies fit the developer’s needs rather than the community’s.

Members of Kirk Hammerton Parish Council spoke at the Examination as part of a coalition of seven local parishes. We made a strong case that North Yorkshire Council should stop adjusting its policies to accommodate the shortcomings of a single developer and instead uphold its many promises of delivering exemplary, strategic development. Even if that means reviewing the New Settlement policy as part of the imminent North Yorkshire Local Plan.

The Planning Inspector initial reply will be in a few weeks time 

In the meantime, the revised Caddick planning application is still open for comment on the North Yorkshire Council website.

If you share KHPC's concerns about the way the development plans are constantly changing, it's important that as many local residents as possible comment on the application and express those concerns. If NYC is given the impression that residents are indifferent it will pay less attention to the points raised by the Parish Councils. 

We’ll shortly be issuing some points that you can use if you wish to comment.

Documents can be found at:

https://uniformonline.harrogate.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=PKRMMBHYIIT00

(Or, NYC planning portal, search reference: 19/00017/EIAMAJ)

New policy map - the dotted line is the proposed new settlement boundary within the original Green Gap.