(Image: Queensberry Design Ltd.)
New plans for almost 100 homes in a North Yorkshire town have been submitted, with the developer insisting it has made substantial changes to address concerns raised over a previous application.
Keepmoat Homes has submitted a new application for 99 properties in Colburn on land north of Catterick Road, having been refused permission for 102 homes on the same site earlier this year.
The previous scheme 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 says it has responded to the objections by revising the layout, changing the mix of properties, improving landscaping and making alterations to highways and drainage proposals.
However, Cllr Kevin Foster, independent councillor for Hipswell and Colburn on North Yorkshire Council, believes fundamental concerns about developing the site remain.
He said: “Residents will rightly be asking why Keepmoat is submitting another application for 99 houses after its previous application for 102 was refused.
“My concern is that the fundamental issues remain unchanged. 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 layout of the proposed housing in Colburn. (Image: Queensberry Design Ltd.)
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.
The revisions include increasing the number of one-bedroom properties, changes to parking arrangements, additional green space and amendments designed to address concerns about the impact on existing trees.
Keepmoat also 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, Cllr Foster said the need for housing did not remove the requirement for development to comply with planning policy.
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He added: “Colburn needs appropriate housing, but it must be in the right place and comply with planning policy.
“I will be scrutinising this application closely and making sure residents’ concerns are heard.”
The revised application will now be considered by North Yorkshire Council.