Author: Neil Horton

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Government proposes to remove planning restrictions on mobile network infrastructure

In a consultation paper, published on 27th August 2019, the Government is seeking views on “the principle of amending permitted development rights in England to grant planning permission for mobile infrastructure to support deployment of 5G and extend mobile coverage, particularly in rural areas”.

The proposals include removing the need for mobile phone operators to seek prior approval when installing radio housing equipment or upgrading masts to support 5G. The paper also suggests operators could be allowed to install building-based masts close to highways without planning permission and to build higher masts than currently allowed under permitted development rules.

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Neighbourhood Plan Development Deferred

At its meeting on Wednesday 29th May 2019, the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group decided to defer the Plan development until the Local Plan is adopted, hopefully by the end of this year. The decision was taken because there are currently three ongoing housing development issues within the parish which makes the current investigation and development of any housing policy for the Neighbourhood Plan near impossible. These issues are:

  1. The Draft Local Plan includes the site SV1 in Staveley for housing allocation with a potential yield of 73 dwellings. This site was not removed from the Local Plan by the Examiner at the recent public hearings so it is to be assumed that it will be included in the adopted Plan. The latest predictions for the Local Plan adoption are November 2019.
  2. A planning application is expected to come forward in the very near future for land off Main Street, Staveley, known as site SV2. This application could be for the development of 13 dwellings.
  3. A planning application was submitted in December 2018 for the development of 26 dwellings, open space and associated infrastructure on land to the east of St Mongah’s Court, Copgrove, known as site CP2. The outcome of this planning application is not expected until July 2019.
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Neighbourhood Plan Designated

At a meeting on 23rd April 2019, Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) approved the Parish Council’s application for designation of the Staveley and Copgrove Neighbourhood Plan. The proposed plan area of both Copgrove and Staveley civil parishes was approved along with the Parish Council’s statement of suitability for the plan production.

Designation is a formal process in Neighbourhood Plan (NP) development whereby the Local Planning Authority (LPA), HBC, recognises a proposed plan area and supports the plan preparation. This means that the Steering Group can proceed with development of the NP with the full support of HBC.

The decision details are available here. The designation application documents are available in the Neighbourhood Plan section of the Document Library.

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Bonfires at Jubilee Court

Following the request at last night’s Parish Council meeting, I have been in touch with the Environment Agency (EA) today and reported the recent increase in bonfires at Abacus, Jubilee Court, Copgrove. The EA have noted our concerns and have asked local residents to call the following incident hotline 0800 80 70 60 everytime there is a bonfire and quote this reference number: 1683371.