Councillors deferred a decision on 38 homes in Gargrave today after voicing concerns about pedestrians walking on the busy Marton Road.
The application was submitted by R N Wooler and Co Ltd and follows a previous bid for housing on the site that was refused by the former Craven District Council in January 2023.
The homes will all be built with sandstone with the majority having either two or three bedrooms.
The site would be accessed directly off Marton Road via a new junction.
No footpaths to Gargrave were proposed as part of the application, which has been a common bone of contention among the 223 objectors.
They say it will be dangerous for residents wanting to walk to and from the village.
However, the council’s highways department issued no objections to the scheme following an assessment.
Gregory Butt from Gargrave Parish Council addressed the Skipton and Ripon planning committee this afternoon to say hundreds of people had objected to both applications with road safety the “paramount concern”.
He added: “We are astounded these issues remain unaddressed.”
A dairy farm near the site recently intensified its operations which has resulted in a large increase in agricultural traffic.
Conservative councillor Simon Myers, who represents the area, spoke to say there are now farming vehicles going up and down Marton Road every hour during the summer, which is a potential hazard for pedestrians. He said more homes will exacerbate the problem.
Despite Cllr Myers being in charge of housing on the council’s executive, he urged the planning committee to refuse the plans. He said: “Gargrave is not full of NIMBYs. It needs more housing and affordable housing but we must not compound problems for residents.”
Planning agent Jamie Pert spoke on behalf of the applicant and said concerns about the impact on roads had been addressed. He said: “In the interest of robustness we provided technical information in response to comments. Impact on traffic has been assessed by your experts and is considered minimal.”
Councillors visited the site in the morning and several noted the number of large farming vehicles that came past.
Cllr Nathan Hull, who represents Washburn and Birstwith for the Conservatives, said as a father of five children he was concerned about the impact of traffic. He said: “My heart is telling me it’s not a good site to develop. I’d be frankly scared that one of my children would get squashed.”
Councillors unanimously voted to defer the plans and asked the highways department to assess the impact of traffic on Marton Road. They also asked if any traffic calming measures such as speedbumps could be included as part of the application.
The application will come again before a future planning committee.
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