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05
Oct
‘Utter disgrace’: Call for investigation into ‘dangerous’ access to Kingsley Farm housing site
Town councillors have called for an investigation into a “dangerous” access point at a housing scheme in Harrogate, which residents have warned could lead to “fatalities”.
Quarters Kingsley received final approval for 30 homes at Kingsley Farm at a Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee on May 26 this year.
However, the decision was made despite some councillors raising concern over access to the site from Kingsley Road, which they said would cause the road to be used as a rat run and increase traffic flow.
Councillors pointed out that there were multiple access points along Kingsley Road to other residential areas, such as Hawthorn Place and Parklands View, which would cause a road safety issue.
At a Harrogate Town Council planning committee last week, residents from Kingsley Road Action Group warned that the road was heavily damaged and was dangerous due to the number of construction vehicles driving down it.
Kingsley Farm is bordered by Kingsley Road to the right and Hawthorn Place to the left.
One resident said Kingsley Road was now being treated as a “private road” with residents peace and tranquility “eroded”. They said:
Fortunately, so far there have been no fatalities. But that day will come.
Another resident questioned the “utter disgrace” decision to approve the access from Kingsley Road, which he said was taken without the access point “being included or voted on in any meeting”.
He said:
We as residents have played by the rules for seven years, which has resulted in the slow destruction of our once peaceful and safe neighbourhood.
Iona Taylor, clerk at the town council, said the authority had requested further information from North Yorkshire Council on the decision which was taken on May 26.
A computer generated image of the Kingsley Farm site.
She said North Yorkshire Council pointed out that there was a difference between “access in terms of the network” and “access points” under the Town and Country Planning act.
Ms Taylor said:
For Kingsley Farm, access was a reserved matter at outline stage. However, it was still necessary to show where the access point to the highway would be.
In this case, the access section of the officer’s report explained this and confirmed where the two access points would be. Condition three and five of the outline permission controlled the detail relating to the access points.
However, Cllr Graham Dixon, Liberal Democrat for Harlow ward, said the council’s response was “semantics” and described the access point as “bonkers”.
He said:
The whole thing has been handled in an appalling manner. The whole development should not have happened, in my view, in the first place.
Cllr Dixon added that the town council had already objected to the access point on Kingsley Drive in March, but did not receive a response from North Yorkshire Council.
Meanwhile, Cllr David Goodall, Reform UK councillor for Bilton Woodfield, called for the town council to request an investigation into how the decision on the access point was taken.
He said:
I would suggest that we consider our objection to be valid and live until North Yorkshire have done a thorough investigation to see if due process was followed.
We don't do that in a manner where we make any allegations, but I think there is a valid interest to the members of the public and this council to establish if full due process was followed at that North Yorkshire Council planning committee.
Town councillors voted to maintain their objections to the Kingsley Road access and requested that North Yorkshire Council undertake an investigation into the decision taken on the access point.
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