Planners refuse Richmond housing development

Councillors have rejected controversial plans for 27 houses which would be visible from Richmond’s historic castle.

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s Richmond area planning committee refused permission for the application at a meeting today (THURS) at County Hall, Northallerton.

They took the decision after hearing how more than 330 people had submitted objections to the proposed new housing on fields at Bolton Crofts.
Two petitions containing 328 signatures were also filed with North Yorkshire Council.

Local residents’ concerns included the harm to the conservation area and the fact the housing would be built outside the local plan development area for the town.

Residents said the development would also damage the view from the castle keep.

Speaking at the planning meeting, local resident Sarah Gillespie said the development would cause “unacceptable harm to the character and appearance” of Richmond and mean the loss of a rare natural habitat.  She said any benefits of the scheme were “significantly and demonstrably” outweighed by the harm it would cause.

Councillor Clive World, from Richmond Town Council, also spoke at the meeting against the scheme.  “The town council strongly opposes this development and we welcome the report that recommends refusal.”  The councillor said residents had put together a list of accidents which had taken place on the access route to the proposed housing site, adding: “The development would result in an increase in traffic would make this type of accident more likely.”

Councillor Stuart Parsons, division member for Richmond, told the meeting an application for housing on the site had previously been refused in 1985.
He said there was “no way” construction traffic would be able to use Prior Avenue to get to the site.

The development was recommended for refusal by planning officers who said the scheme would damage the setting of the castle, a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building.

The Highways Authority had asked for the emergency access road to be less steep, while the council’s ecologist had questioned the likely success of proposed mitigation measures for the loss of the meadow.

Councillors voted unanimously to reject the application after a short debate during which Councillor Steve Watson said it had been a “survival exercise” to walk up the proposed access road during a site visit due to its steepness.

Councillor Tom Jones questioned why the scheme had been brought before the committee and had not been refused by officers when it contravened so many planning policies.

The scheme would have seen a mix of two, three and four-bedroom properties built, as well as a children’s play area, a new emergency access road from Green Howard’s Road and a new walking link to the town centre.