Councillors have backed plans for 110 homes in Pickering despite concerns about the development adding to the town’s sewage problems.
Members of North Yorkshire Council’s Thirsk and Malton area planning committee voted unanimously to be minded to approve the outline application for land west of the town’s Malton Road
The plans will be subject to almost 50 conditions which must be agreed to ahead of work starting on the site.
Councillors were told that the local community had a number of concerns about sewage, drainage, the impact on the local infrastructure and an increase in traffic
One resident, Mrs Holgate, told the meeting:
“Ofwat, the government regulator of the water sector, have set a target of 20 spills per overflow by 2025.
“By June this year, Yorkshire Water’s own statistics for its two stations in Pickering were 47 spills at one and 35 spills at the other.
“Pickering has a sewage system that is consistently failing the government’s own targets for spills into the environment.
“More housing inevitably means that sewage and more waterways in Pickering being further polluted. This is environmentally and legally unacceptable.”
Mrs Flynn, chair of the Mickle Hill Residents’ Association, said elderly residents of Mickle Hill already found it “scary” to get on to the A169 due to frequent congestion.
She added:
“There’s no doubt that the traffic generated by the 110 new houses will have an additional and significant impact on the traffic situation, not only by the bare minimum of 110 occupiers’ cars, but their visitors, friends, families, deliveries, essential services, postage, bin lorries etc.”
The meeting heard that Yorkshire Water had asked for a condition to be inserted requiring the developer to have a system in place for foul water drainage before homes were occupied.
Councillor Caroline Goodrick admitted there were issues with the application.
But she added:
“This site is allocated in the (local) plan and it was accepted and it was inspected by the planning inspector and found to be sound.
“We would be in a really difficult position to actually turn this site down because it is part of planned development and the whole purpose of having a development plan is to plan that development.
“So I think we’re in a really difficult situation to say no.”
As well as the proposed housing, the scheme includes more than a hectare of designated public open space.
The scheme would include 38 affordable properties, if 110 homes were built on the agricultural land.
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