Developer submits revised homes plan after refusal

Revised plans for 99 homes on land near Catterick Garrison have been submitted, after a previous scheme was refused.

Keepmoat Homes said its new application for land north of Catterick Road, between the garrison and Colburn, had addressed objections to its earlier proposal for 102 homes.

That was rejected by North Yorkshire Council in February for eight reasons, including concerns over design, highways safety, drainage, loss of trees, ecology and the provision of open space.

The developer said it had revised the layout, changed the mix of properties, improved landscaping and made alterations to highways and drainage proposals.

Kevin Foster, independent councillor for Hipswell and Colburn on North Yorkshire Council, said that "fundamental concerns" about developing the site remained.

"Residents will rightly be asking why Keepmoat is submitting another application for 99 houses after its previous application for 102 was refused," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"This development is in open countryside, outside the development limits, and the reasons for refusal have not changed.

"Planning decisions must mean something. Developers should not be able to assume that simply submitting a revised application will make the original concerns disappear."

The revised proposals would provide 99 affordable homes, comprising 70 properties for social rent and 29 for shared ownership.

The development would include a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom properties, along with public open space, landscaping and pedestrian and cycle connections.

In a planning statement prepared by Savills, the developer says the changes follow discussions with council planning officers and feedback on the previously refused scheme.

Keepmoat argues that the site is a suitable location for housing, despite being outside the historic settlement boundary, because it lies within the wider built-up area of Catterick Garrison.

The developer says the provision of 99 affordable homes would help address housing needs in an area where the council is currently unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land.

However, Foster said the need for housing did not remove the requirement for development to comply with planning policy.

North Yorkshire Council has not set a date for the proposals to be considered.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.