Residents have voiced concerns that key public services would be put under an intolerable strain if a plan to increase housing beside a rapidly-expanding industrial estate is approved.
Shepherd Developments’ proposals to build about 80 homes on grassland to the south-west of Leeming Bar, off Harkness Drive, has triggered a strong reaction from some residents after it emerged the eight-acre site was one of the few remaining green areas near the village where residents could visit.
The scheme follows criticism of Hambleton District Council for allowing for extensions to Leeming Bar Industrial Estate, with residents claiming any extra workers would have to travel there from further afield due to the availability and cost of housing in the area.
Planning documents submitted to the council said the estate could feature a mix of one to four-bedroom for sale and rental properties, 40 per cent of which would be affordable.
The application highlights how Leeming Bar has grown out from the crossroads where the historical north-south Roman road met with the east-west Dales route.
It states: “Because of its excellent connectivity to the A1(M) and the region’s road network, the village is also home to a significant and expanding industrial estate.
“The location of the site enables a well-rounded and considered development which will become an integral part of the village and the greater area as a whole.”
However, residents say a line needs to be drawn on the expansion of Leeming Bar.
Some residents have said they are aghast Hambleton council is even considering the greenfield site scheme, having declared a climate emergency in December last year, particularly as it is home to “an abundance of wildlife”.
In one of numerous objections on environmental grounds, a resident wrote: “There is a high quantity of old, established trees within the proposed planning area that I can see from the plans are not expected to be kept. As a council committed to being carbon neutral, surely getting rid of these trees contradicts your pledge?”
“It is an area full of wildlife using the various natural habitats within it. We regularly see deer, moles, frogs, toads, bats, newts, stoats and hedgehogs, smell the foxes that visit, apart from the herons and barn owl which visit, along
with the many other wild birds and flowers which abound.
“Green space is precious in villages like Leeming Bar, especially having an industrial estate to the northern side of us also. Everyone I have spoken to is opposed to the planned development.”
Other objections claim the scale of the development, alongside others in the pipeline at nearby Aiskew and Bedale, would place unsustainable pressure on services ranging from doctors to schools.
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