A proposal to build a housing estate beside Wensleydale Railway has been granted consent after councillors said developers had worked hard to overcome a series of concerns for residents saw the scheme rejected just nine months ago.
North Yorkshire Council’s Richmond constituency planning committee has unanimously approved the 88-home development at Blind Lane, Aiskew on the site of a former hatchery and piggery, north of the popular heritage line.
The proposal on a 2.73-hectare site had drawn controversy from residents, especially over doubts over the adoption of Bluebell Way, the proposed access to the site, leading to road safety and maintenance issues.
Other reasons for the refusal included uncertainty about the connection of the application site to Yorkshire Water’s adopted network and the design of the Blind Lane Crossing, which was considered insufficiently wide.
Officers told the committee the developers had made progress had also been made with regards to the adoption of the roads and related sewers, and that sufficient safeguards were in place to warrant their recommendation for the scheme.
They concluded that while the development would result in the loss of an existing employment site, the loss would be “outweighed by the benefits of providing additional housing”.
Nevertheless, residents said their concerns remained over the proposed access to the site and the proposed development would raise additional amenity issues, including additional noise, and put extra strain on local services and facilities, including schools, dental surgery and GP services.
The meeting heard there had been at least ten housing estates built in Aiskew over the previous 20 years and alongside plans for a further 400 houses.
Objector, resident Michael Broad said: “How many more houses need to be built without extra amenities in Aiskew and Leeming Bar?”
Parish councillor Michael Chaloner told the meeting Aiskew and neighbouring Leeming Bar the large number of new houses had generated concern over the area’s infrastructure, and in particular the sewers and narrow access road, to cope with the demand.
He said some of the new houses on Foundry Way in Leeming Bar had seen backflow and a major sewer collapse, resulting in the closure of Leeming Lane.
Coun Chaloner said Yorkshire Water, which had expressed concerns over the proposed development, was set to call in a specialist team to make the sewer operational again in Leeming Bar.
He said: “The lack of services in Aiskew from its growing population, such as medical centre, school or community hub suggests a maximum for housing has been reached.”
An agent for the developer rejected residents’ claims that the development would generate hundreds of extra vehicle movements at peak times, saying the council’s highways engineers had agreed the evening rush hour period would see just 48 vehicles enter and 19 leave the estate.
He added the firm had addressed the concerns Hambleton councillors had previously raised, such as over the gradient of the access road, and with 30 per cent affordable housing and 87 of the plots being reserved for one, two and three-bedroom housing the development would meet local housing needs.
Councillor Bridget Fortune, a member of Hambleton’s planning committee which rejected the proposal, said her concerns over the ability of the village’s infrastructure to cope with then increased demand had been “put to bed”.
She added: “While I agree about the local representations about the dentist, the school and the GPs, the developer isn’t the guy responsible for those, but it’s worth noting that firther down the line somebody needs to think about this.”
Ahead of councillors approving the plan, Councillor Stephen Watson added: “It’s very clear that an awful lot of work has gone into looking at the issues which have previously been raised, particularly around the highways. Yes, it’s a complex solution, but it does deliver a safe solution with good access.”
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