A new housing development linked to a community’s bid to secure the future of an allotments field could be given the go-ahead next week.
Planning officers at North Yorkshire Council have recommended that councillors should be minded to approve plans for up to 55 houses on land west of Allotment Gardens, Great Ayton, when they meet next week.
The outline planning application includes provision for 15 affordable homes.
The development would be built on fields next to existing allotments on the north-west edge of the town.
Access to the scheme would be created on 15 of the most northern allotments, with new allotments built by the developer in compensation.
A new car park to serve the plots is also proposed.
Great Ayton Parish Council has given its support to the scheme.
But the application has divided opinion locally, with 115 people writing to the council to give their support and 104 filing objections.
Those in support welcomed the inclusion of affordable homes and said the design of the properties.
They also noted that the owner of the land had agreed to sell the allotments, which they also own, to the local community, if they were given planning permission.
Opponents of the scheme raised concerns about highway safety, the impact on local services and the loss of open space.
They also said the owner of the allotments could sell the plots without obtaining planning permission and that the planning process had been “distorted” by the promise of the sale.
Planning officer Elizabeth Walker concluded in her report to members that on balance, the application should be approved, subject to the signing of a 106 agreement.
This agreement would include a payment of almost £185,000 towards an outdoor sports facility.
The officer said: “The applicant has sought to provide a development which provides for locally identified need and certainly the proposed housing mix and affordable housing offer is welcomed in those terms.
“The development will provide replacement allotments, plus new car parking for the allotments, which is a moderate public benefit.
“Overall, while the amended scheme represents a large windfall development on the western edge of the village with a detrimental impact on the character of the countryside that is part of the setting of the village, there are nevertheless positive benefits related to a scheme of this size that are considered to outweigh the detrimental impact.”
Great Ayton Parish Council has been awarded a grant of more than £190,000 from the government’s Community Ownership Fund to buy the ten-acre allotment site and secure it’s long-term future for the community.
The parish council has applied to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for more time to claim the money, which was due to be spent by December last year.
The application will be discussed by members of the Richmond area planning committee on Thursday, February 19.
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