Councillors could approve a delay to the construction of a ‘vital’ footbridge over Scalby Beck at a major Scarborough housing development.
Lovell Partnerships’ proposal to delay building a bridge over Scalby Beck until the 50th home in its development at the High Mill estate in Scalby is occupied has been recommended for approval.
Despite more than 70 objections from residents, the Scarborough and Whitby area planning committee has been asked to approve the delay at its meeting on Thursday, February 13.
The bridge would be around 40m long and would form part of a pedestrian and cyclist route providing a direct link between High Mill and “essential day-to-day facilities, such as shops and schools”.
The site was granted planning permission for up to 220 new homes in 2020 and a current condition requires the bridge to be delivered before any properties are occupied.
While the developer has said that the delay would create “a reasonable time frame for the delivery of the bridge”, many locals have expressed concerns it “will never, ever be built”.
A council report notes that “development on the site has periodically stalled at various points since the first approval 15 years ago” including a previous proposal to defer the bridge’s construction.
In a submission on behalf of Lovell, ID Planning said:
“No developer will purchase the site with the condition as it currently stands due to the potential delay between purchase and the ability to sell houses with this delay being outside of the housebuilder’s control and dependent on third parties.”
It added that there was an “approximately an 18-month time frame for the actual delivery of the bridge from grant of consent” during which time it would have to “secure an approval in principle, wrangle with legal aspects and actually tender and let a contract for the bridge and then construct it”.
While many residents have staunchly opposed delays to the bridge’s construction, council planners have recommended approval as “the best long-term route to secure the bridge”.
Mike Costelloe, a local resident said:
“It’s almost like it was a waste of time putting in an objection.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), he said he was worried that after the 50th house, the applicant would “wander off and leave the rest to some other developer”.
Officers have also raised concerns that if the proposal for a delay were rejected, the developer could make “a convincing case” in a judicial review.
They also highlighted “the weight now being assigned by the government to the delivery of new housing”.
Since coming to power last summer, Labour has started a national planning overhaul to reach its target of building 1.5 million new homes over five years with an annual target of more than 4,000 new homes in North Yorkshire.
Coun Derek Bastiman who represents Scalby on North Yorkshire Council, previously said he was “totally opposed to any further delay" and that he had been “originally sceptical about this site application and was only won over by the proposal of a connecting bridge”.
ID Planning added: “The proposed modification of the condition allows for a reasonable time frame for the delivery of the bridge whilst also allowing the developer to sell houses in the interim which is what is required to bring the site forward.”
Members of the public are invited to attend the planning meeting at Scarborough Town Hall on Thursday, February 13, at 2pm.
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