New village plans launched around Cattal railway station

Plans for a sustainable new village located around Cattal railway station have been unveiled to help meet Harrogate’s future housing needs.

Wetherby-based Oakgate Group plc has put them forward as part of Harrogate Borough Council’s current Local Plan process.

The village – provisionally called Maltkiln – is located to the south of the A59 and would include around 3,000 new homes comprising a mix of housing types suitable for young people, families and older people, centred around the existing Cattal railway station.

The proposed infrastructure includes a new roundabout on the A59 to access the village, a new primary school, new road and pedestrian bridges over the railway line to enable the closure of the existing level crossing at Cattal station, complementary community facilities and employment space suitable for a variety of business types and sizes.

Richard France, Managing Director of Oakgate Group plc commented: This is the best opportunity to locate a highly accessible and sustainable new settlement to meet the current and future housing needs of the district.

There is no doubt in my mind this is the ideal location for a new settlement having many benefits, and less constraints, than the other new settlement options that have been put forward.

Improvements are already planned for the Harrogate – York railway service and Cattal railway station so our proposed village would provide a focus for implementing these improvements and enable additional enhancements to the facilities at the station. Our proposals are also very well aligned with the recently announced plans to improve junction 47 of the A1(M), which are being developed to accommodate long term growth in the district.

We expect the masterplan to evolve throughout the Local Plan and subsequent planning process, and would welcome the thoughts of individuals, businesses and community groups as we continue to develop and refine our proposals.

We want to deliver a truly sustainable, high quality new village that meets the full range of housing needs and is something the whole community can be proud of.

An extensive range of supporting technical information was submitted to the Council during the last round of Local Plan consultation and discussions are ongoing with the Council as part of the Local Plan process.

It’s expected that the Council will carry out further public consultation regarding the draft Local Plan in the summer.

About Oakgate Group plc

• Since it was formed in 1995, the Oakgate Group plc has gained a reputation as one of the regions leading commercial and residential developers, delivering complex sites across the region.
• In recent years the company has delivered a number of high profile redevelopments, including St Marks Place Shopping Centre in Newark and the North Street Retail Park in Goole. In 2014 The Oakgate Group opened the £90 million Vangarde Shopping Park in York, home to the city’s first John Lewis department store, the region’s largest M&S store and a state-of-the-art Next store, as well as a number of food outlets. Oakgate is currently in the process of redeveloping Stonebow House in York into a retail-led mix use development.
• Through a joint venture with Sandby, Oakgate is also successfully promoting Langwith Garden Village – a major new garden village development on the outskirts of York that has been allocated in City of York Council’s Local Plan for around 3,400 new homes.