Huge Harrogate housing estate plans with 4,000 homes takes next step
A huge Harrogate housing scheme with 4,000 homes is set to take its next step as a government inspector is set to look over the plans.
The government-appointed inspector will examine North Yorkshire Council's development plan, which details how the Maltkiln plan will be delivered. A public examination is also set to be held.
The Maltkiln plan is the largest allocation for housing in the already agreed Harrogate local plan and so the council has a major say in the plans. While planning permission has not yet been granted, the homes would be built near Cattal, Whixley, Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton.
Read More: Man 'murdered' in Crosland Moor home named as police issue new statement
The council says the document “sets a clear and ambitious thirty-year vision” for Maltkiln.
These plans include details on the site’s boundaries, how the homes would be developed alongside local transport infrastructure and how it will combat the effects of climate change. During its examination, the inspector will hold public meetings with interested parties to discuss the plans.
They will look at whether residents have been properly consulted on the plans and whether the plans meet with objectives on biodiversity and transport. Following this hearing, the inspector will publish a report recommending whether or not the council can adopt the development plan, if it’s legally sound and if any modifications are needed to make the homes deliverable.
Get all the latest and breaking North Yorkshire news straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter here.
The examination will begin tomorrow (September 17) at the Civic Centre in Harrogate and is scheduled to last all week. Key players like North Yorkshire Council, the developer Caddick Group and parish councils will read out statements and respond to questions from the inspector.
Also speaking will be a representative of the Dent family, previously one of the site’s major landowners. However, they withdrew after talks with the council broke down in December 2022.
Whether Maltkiln can move forward without Caddick owning 42 per cent of the intended site will be a key issue for the inspector to mull over. North Yorkshire Council has said “as a last resort” it would be prepared to use compulsory purchase orders (CPO) to force a sale.
In its statement that is due to be read tomorrow, the council said it is working with government housing agency Homes England and specialist consultants on preparations for the CPO being used.