North Yorkshire Council have said that they have used “delegated powers” to allow the planning application to proceed, and it will not be approved by the Harrogate Area Planning Committee.
The development proposal is controversial in that it will cause parking problems in Hornbeam, and for rail users from Hornbeam Park Station.
- The development will give a new purpose-built, environmental building for £20 million (with £16 million of that budget from government)
- Courses will continue, and expand in vocational education, but not A-Levels
- The college will displace all on-site parking for 20-months, and have not mitigated the impact of that
- The rail halt carpark is already at capacity, and parking in Hornbeam Park is tenanted
- Longer-term parking spaces to drop from 242 to 88
The Council have said that they are using delegated powers to make a decision on the application, but appear to have used those powers incorrectly.
The plans have been criticised by many businesses and individuals on Hornbeam Park, and elsewhere on ground managing parking.
There are currently 41 comments against the proposals.
Within the Council’s own Constitution states that matters related to the Planning Committee include:
The trigger would be decided by the Deputy Chief Executive pursuant to 4.04 (iii) of the Officer Scheme of Delegation Protocols.
iii. Proposals which are potentially controversial or likely to be of significant public interest in the opinion of the Deputy Chief Executive
Given the number of comments raised against the application, the numerous correspondence, and the media interest, it would indicate that the application should have gone to the Harrogate Planning Committee.
North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for planning, Trevor Watson, said:
The application is within the scope of the Council’s scheme of delegation which identifies the type of application appropriate for determination by officers rather than planning committee.
This application has been considered under delegated powers and has been deemed to be acceptable subject to a legal agreement being completed. Work on that agreement is ongoing and we expect it to be concluded soon – at which point we will issue a decision notice.
We have no information on the intended start date.
To see the planning application: https://uniformonline.harrogate.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=RZ6KJBHYGMT00&activeTab=summary
The Decision Notice
North Yorkshire Constitution , section 4.04 is relevant in this case.
