Residents call for Finghall housing development to be rejected

Residents say a proposed new housing development on the edge of a North Yorkshire village should be thrown out due to road safety concerns.

Villagers have urged North Yorkshire Council planners to reject plans for at least nine houses on the edge of Finghall, between Leyburn and Bedale.

More than 40 people have submitted objections to the outline planning application in a field off Blewhouse Lane.

Supporting documents filed with the plans state: “The proposed development will not have a harmful impact on the visual amenity of the area or the wider landscape, due to it being a sensitively designed housing scheme which is in keeping with the surroundings and with ample space for structural and incidental landscaping.  The proposed development can be accessed safely, with no harm to highway or pedestrian safety.”

Local residents however say the scheme would make the village more dangerous for road users and pedestrians.  One objector said: “There are no footpaths anywhere in the village of Finghall. Pedestrians must walk along the narrow road and step onto private drives when a vehicle drives along Blewhouse Lane.  I feel that an increase in traffic on this road will increase risk of accidents or injury.”

Another said: “I just think it would make our lane more dangerous than it is already because when you meet another four-wheeled vehicle coming the other way, there isn’t room to pass and I’m not very good at reversing, not that there’s usually anywhere to reverse to.”

Residents have highlighted a previous planning application for housing in the village which was dealt with by the former Richmondshire District Council.  This application from 1989 was rejected after Blewhouse Lane was deemed not wide enough for additional traffic.

A resident said: “There are more cars on the road, cars have got bigger and the conditions of Blewhouse Lane have not changed.”

In its response, Constable Burton and Finghall Parish Council raised concerns about the impact on the privacy of existing properties in the village and the loss of natural habitats from the scheme, as well worries about road safety.  It said: “The verges are chewed and the state of the road when heavy rains fall makes it inaccessible for pedestrians.  A further ten houses accessing the lane would increase the vehicle traffic immensely posing a very real increase in risk for all road users.”

A previous outline planning permission for houses on the site was rejected by the council in February last year.

The reasons for refusal included flood risk and drainage, impact on protected species, impact on trees, and a lack of affordable housing.
An application for three houses on the field was approved in 2019 however, with two of those properties having since been built.

The application is expected to be dealt with by councillors on the Richmond area planning commitee in coming weeks.