A group of Helmsley residents has written to the government urging a review of a decision to grant planning permission for North Yorks Moors National Park Authority’s new headquarters.
Members of the Riccal Drive Residents Group claim North Yorkshire Council planners failed to follow key road safety features of the Helmsley Town Plan when assessing the development.
Residents have also suggested there was a potential conflict of interest because the case officer dealing with the application previously worked for the park authority.
The group claimed their concerns were “dismissed out of hand” by North Yorkshire Council when they raised the issue.
In the letter to ministers from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the residents asked officials to investigate how a housing estate approved by the former Ryedale District Council in 2018 and the headquarters scheme were passed despite a consultants’ report proposing safety measures for any future developments in the area.
The residents say this report recommended the separation of residential and employment traffic and road layouts to avoid any houses having driveway access to a mixed-use road, which has not now happened.
A spokesperson for the group said: “This has led us to reach out to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
“The council is incapable of marking its own homework and there is an urgent need for an independent review of the planning department, and the impact of successive judgements on the people of Helmsley.
“The adopted Helmsley Town Plan has not been followed when making major planning decisions.”
North York Moors National Park Authority was given the go-ahead to build its new headquarters outside the national park in Helmsley last month despite local residents claiming the development would harm their community.
North Yorkshire Council declined to comment on the letter.
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