Villagers have made an eleventh-hour appeal to councillors to reject plans for almost 100 homes on the edge of a North Yorkshire village.
Dishforth Residents’ Group has written to councillors urging them to examine their concerns over infrastructure and the environment before approving the development on land off Topcliffe Road.
The letter has gone to all members of North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon area planning committee ahead of a meeting on Tuesday next week where the outline application is due to be considered.
The scheme, submitted by Caddick Land Limited and TJ Swiers, seeks permission for up to 98 homes and a retail unit.
Planning officers have recommended the application for approval, citing the council’s shortage of housing land supply and the contribution the development could make towards meeting housing targets.
However, residents say the proposal would place unacceptable pressure on a village that has already experienced rapid growth in recent years.
In their letter, the group states that Dishforth has grown from around 200 homes to almost 350 in the past seven years and argues that approving another 98 dwellings would result in “wholly disproportionate” expansion that would fundamentally change the village’s character.
The letter adds: “Residents choose to live in Dishforth because of its rural setting, quiet location and strong sense of community. A development of this scale would irrevocably change that character.
“We recognise the pressure on North Yorkshire Council to meet challenging housing targets. However, those targets should not override the need to direct development to appropriate and sustainable locations.
“There are better-connected places with stronger public transport, better access to services and infrastructure more capable of supporting growth.”
Among the concerns raised are sewage infrastructure, highway impacts, loss of agricultural land, public transport limitations and what residents describe as inadequate community consultation by the developer.
The group also highlighted objections from Yorkshire Water, which has warned that the local sewer network lacks sufficient capacity to accommodate the development.
Residents argue that existing drainage infrastructure is already under pressure and say councillors should not approve the development before the issue has been resolved.
The letter also points to what campaigners describe as discrepancies between Yorkshire Water’s position and earlier drainage reports and consultation responses relied upon during the planning process.
Residents have requested that councillors either refuse the application or defer it to allow further scrutiny, including a site visit, updated drainage assessments and further consideration of the cumulative impact of recent housing growth in the village.
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