Plan for 133 homes on farmland set for approval

Updated plans for 133 homes on farmland in North Yorkshire are expected to be approved by councillors.

Outline planning permission was granted in 2024 for the development at Cow Dyke Farm on Skipton Road in Harrogate, but the application did not consider access within the site, a North Yorkshire Council (NYC) report said.

A reserved matters application, focusing on access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale, has now been recommended for approval by council officers.

Objections were received about the proposed removal of a hedgerow, the impact on the local community during construction and the provision of affordable homes.

Fifty-three of the planned homes were designated as affordable, but Killinghall Parish Council said not enough were one-bed or four-bed properties.

It added that the site was not included in the area's Local Plan and that local roads were "already at or over capacity", the NYC report said.

Other objections to the initial plans in 2024, concerning the loss of trees, ecology, design and the location of landmark buildings, had been addressed in the reserved matters application or the conditions of the outline planning permission, it said.

Recommending the plans for approval, officers said the development would "make a valuable contribution" to delivering housing, including affordable homes, on an allocated site.

"When taking account of the council's housing land supply at 2.2 years, there is not such significant harm created by the development that would outweigh the benefits provided," they said.

In the report, they added the project "represents sustainable development".

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