Skipton Properties Consultation

The Parish Council has encouraged Skipton Properties to engage with the community with regard to their proposed development and revised plans for the Harden/Keighley Road site.

There will be a ‘drop in’ event at the Memorial Hall on Tuesday 4th September, between 6.30pm and 9pm to see the revised plans and additional information. Skipton Properties representatives will be on hand to discuss the scheme and answer any questions. Parish Council members will be in attendance too.

For background, the developer has outline approval for the development, from Bradford Council. Details of design and layout have yet to be agreed. The developer recently applied for detailed approval and for the terms of the section 106 agreement to be discharged on the grounds of affordability. Section 106 is a legal agreement between an applicant seeking planning permission and the local planning authority, which is used to mitigate the impact of the development on local infrastructure.

The Parish Council opposed the application and Cllr Kay Kirkham attended the Regulatory and Appeals Committee on the 19th  July, 2018. The Parish Council’s objections can be viewed here.

The application was rejected by Bradford Council, who stated that the application should be refused for the following reasons: –

1. The development would cause harm to the setting of the Grade II Listed Buildings at Crowther Fold and the registered historic landscape of the St Ives Estate and would therefore be contrary to Policies EN3 and SC9 of the Core Strategy.

2. The proposed three storey units would, by reason of their massing, have an adverse impact on the visual amenity of Harden Village and would therefore be contrary to Policies DS1 and DS3 of the Core Strategy.

3. The proximity of the proposed development to woodland adjacent to the Northern boundary of the site is likely to result in future pressure for the pruning and/or felling of trees to the detriment of visual amenity which would be contrary to Policies EN5, DS1 and DS3 of the Core Strategy.

Skipton Properties have since revised their scheme and before submitting amended proposals to Bradford Council have expressed a wish to engage with residents and the Parish Council.

Several Harden Parish Council members recently met with Skipton Properties and noted the changes made to the scheme to overcome previous objections. The Parish Council subsequently resolved to support a revised application in principal, subject to reaching agreement over the financial assessment of affordability. Discussions are ongoing over this aspect.