Green Hammerton: Plans submitted for 3,000 homes

Plans have been submitted for 3,000 new homes on land between two villages in North Yorkshire.

The scheme between York and Harrogate includes two primary schools, retirement homes, parks, roundabouts on the A59 and space for businesses

Commercial Estates Group (CEG) want to develop land identified in a draft of Harrogate district's Local Plan.

Opponents at Green Hammerton said the plan would not solve Harrogate Council's housing need.

There has been strong opposition in the area and campaigns to "keep Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton green."

Campaigners in Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton previously said the decision would mean a tenfold increase in the local population, put pressure on local facilities, and see agricultural land destroyed.

Green Hammerton, which is close to the A1, has about 675 residents.

Christian Eaton of the campaign group Keep the Hammertons Green said: "CEG settlement does not solve Harrogate Council's housing need problem, it only pushes the problem to the outskirt of the borough creating even more problems and indeed causing harm to existing communities."

CEG's Steve McBurnley said: "The CEG Hammerton scheme is viable and deliverable and is the most sustainable solution in accordance with the council's emerging Local Plan.

The homes in the proposals include a mix of one to five bedroom homes with affordable, starter, family and elderly accommodation, as well as 50 hectares of open space - almost a third of the site said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Harrogate district's draft Local Plan includes the allocation of land between Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton - which would include CEG's Great Hammerton site or an alternative at nearby Cattal known as Maltkiln.

In March, campaigners against those plans for a large new development in the area hand-delivered almost 600 objections to Harrogate Borough Council.