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10
Nov
Plans for 60 homes in Harrogate rejected for second time
A plan to built 60 new homes at Cardale Park in Harrogate has been rejected for a second time.
Doncaster-based Keepmoat Homes tabled plans to North Yorkshire Council to develop two fields off Beckwith Head Road.
The council refused a similar plan on the site from the developer in February 2026 after a planning officer described the layout and design of the scheme as “poor quality”.
In its latest plans, Keepmoat applied to build a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses on the site.
Layout for the homes at Beckwith Head Road.
The developer added that 100% of the homes would be classed as affordable housing.
In its planning documents, it said:
The proposed development will offer quality family homes to suit a wide range of purchasers. The dwellings will be constructed to a high specification with a mix of traditional and modern materials, together with contemporary design elements akin to traditional form.
However, planning officers at North Yorkshire Council have rejected the proposal on multiple grounds, including poor design and loss of habitat.
The application also attracted objection from numerous council departments including highways, ecology, flooding and housing.
In a decision notice, Martin Grainger, head of development management at the council, said the layout, design, appearance and landscaping of the proposed development “does not create a well-designed place” which in turn would “harm the Special Landscape Area”.
He added that the house types and garden sizes did not meet the design requirements of local plan policies and that the developer had failed to demonstrate that the site “can be adequately drained”.
Mr Grainger goes on to add that the scheme had failed “to provide an acceptable highways layout” and would result in “unjustified loss of priority habitat”.
Previous refusal
The move comes after council officials rejected a similar plan in February this year.
Numerous statutory consultees, including North Yorkshire Council’s highways department and urban design officer, objected during the public consultation phase.
At the time, a council case officer said:
The layout and design of the scheme is poor quality. Both urban design and landscape officers object to the scheme and the views of these consultees are given significant weight.
They added the proposal “would harm the character and appearance of the surrounding area” and “fails to provide an acceptable highways layout”.
They also raised concerns about the amount of affordable housing, surface water drainage, biodiversity and the loss of trees with preservation orders.
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