Persimmon set for double nod in Harrogate

Persimmon’s plans to build more than 240 homes across two schemes in Harrogate and Ripon, which include the conversion of a former choir school into apartments, look set to be approved.The company submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to develop land on Otley Road into 125 homes and to transform the former Ripon Cathedral Choir school into 105 dwellings and 12 apartments.Both developments are on the agenda for Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee meeting on 5 September 2017 with a recommendation for approval.Ripon Cathedral Choir School closed in 2012 and the site is currently vacant. The redundant single and two-storey school buildings will be demolished with the exception of the principal two-storey building in red brick and slate tile, which will be converted into 12 apartments.The remainder of the site would be used to build the 105 new houses, providing a mix of one, two, three, four and five-bed properties. A total of 70 units would go onto the open market, while 35 would be affordable housing.On the Otley Road site, Persimmon is proposing to develop 75 open market dwellings and 50 affordable houses.As part of the Otley Road decision, Harrogate Borough Council requested a Section 106 Agreement for a contribution of £87,567 to improvements to Otley Road and the removal of a pedestrian crossing.To develop the Ripon Cathedral Choir School land a Section 106 order has been put forward for Persimmon to provide £141,137.82 to Ripon Grammar School for secondary education provision, £69,600 for traffic signal co-ordination, £62,073 to Grove Lane Children’s Play Area, £37,437.97 to Hell Wath outdoor sports facilities and £17,499 to Hell Wath Natural and Semi-Natural Urban Greenspace.