Allerton Park Landscape and Cultural Heritage Fund Grants Update

Work Starts along Wath Lane, Staveley

Grant 1

The Parish Council received a grant of £9,176 from the Allerton Park Landscape and Cultural Heritage Fund (APLCHF) in October 2019 to carry out improvement works to the Jubilee Recreation Field, the village green west, the Pinfold and the phone box on Main Street housing the community defibrillator. The works to the Jubilee Recreation Field and village green west have now been completed. The new gate to the Pinfold is in production and expected to be installed by the end of December 2019. The phone box refurbishment has been postponed until the spring as wet weather at the scheduled time of the works prevented the contractor from starting.

Following all this work the areas are looking so much more cared for and especially the Jubilee Recreation Field which, if it weren’t for the weather would offer a wonderful place for children to play safely. In the spring a little further work will be needed there to remove the ivy and brambles from the hedge along the roadside plus planting a few new hedge plants to in-fill. Volunteers for this small project will be required. Please contact the Parish Council if you are willing to spare a Saturday morning in February to lend a hand.

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Staveley Traffic Survey Results

Following the decision at the last Parish Council meeting (minute 8.5), a traffic survey was recently commissioned from North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) for Main Street and Arkendale Road Staveley. The survey took place at the two sites for a period of seven days from 13th to 19th September 2019, using traffic counting cables.

The survey results are now available and can be seen in full here (Main Street) and here (Arkendale Road). A summary of the directional results for each of the seven days is available here.

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Forthcoming Staveley Improvement Works

As previously reported, the Parish Council has been awarded a grant from the Allerton Park Cultural Heritage and Landscape Fund to carry out various improvement works around Staveley. This grant will be used to improve the heritage area around the village Pinfold and the Jubilee Recreation Field, together with the replacement of a tree on the village green west and the refurbishment of the phone box which houses the public AED (automatic external defibrillator).

The works are scheduled to start on 20th September 2019 and continue over the next couple of weeks. A more detailed specification of works being undertaken is available from the Parish Clerk if required.

New ‘No Footway’ Sign for Minskip Road

North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) have confirmed that they will action a ‘No Footway’ warning sign to motorists when approaching Staveley along the Minskip Road. The Parish Council (PC) requested a sign following resident comments at the last PC meeting on the dangers of walking the section of road between the Staveley Nature Reserve car park entrance and the village.

NYCC also stated:

However, we are afraid we have no funds to change the current situation. It is a rural unrestricted road, which unfortunately would not qualify for any measures to reduce vehicle speeds, or provide additional footways.

We are advised that the sign will be installed by the end of October 2019.

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.

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.