Harrogate Borough Council has published a list of potential sites for future housing and commercial development in the district.
In September 2014, the council conducted a ‘Call for Sites’ asking residents, landowners and developers to help identify land for future development in the district. The responses received would then be considered for inclusion in a new Local Plan, which would act as a guide for future growth of the district up until 2035.
Sites needed to be capable of accommodating five or more residential dwellings or 500m2 of employment floor space and could be located anywhere within the Harrogate district. Over 400 locations were submitted for consideration of their potential suitability.
In July 2015, a further call for sites was issued as part of an ‘Issues and Options’ consultation generating an additional 35 potential locations. The consultation also asked for views and ideas on what the Local Plan should achieve, how new homes and jobs should be distributed across the district, and what potential new policies could be introduced to manage future development.
Councillor Rebecca Burnett, Cabinet Member for Planning and Sustainable Transport said:
We have published the full list of submitted sites as we are keen to show local communities what land has been submitted to the council. It is important to note that the list comprises every single submission and some of these may ultimately be unsuitable for development.
Each site will now be evaluated, and those which meet our criteria will be put forward for public consultation, allowing residents to give their opinions on whether they should be progressed.
Having enough housing in our district is an issue and we need to find land to build nearly 6,500 new homes in the next 20 years. We are keen to continue engaging with the community on the matter. We are currently developing our draft Local Plan, and look forward to hearing resident’s opinions when it goes out for public consultation later this year.
Before the council makes a decision on which sites it believes should form part of the draft Local Plan, people will have a chance to comment on the potential sites when the council publishes its Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment in Spring 2016.
The sites submitted through the ‘Call for Sites’ and in response to the Issues & Options consultation are published on the Council’s website at: http://consult.harrogate.gov.uk/portal/pp/so/shelaa/isl_1
