Oakgate submits plans for 4,000-home Yorkshire village

Wetherby-based Oakgate Group has submitted an outline planning application for 4,000 homes at Maltkiln Village in North Yorkshire. The new neighbourhood will cover around 670 acres of land around the Cattal railway station. It will include two primary schools, local shops, a doctor’s surgery, a village hall and significant development to surrounding roads including new roundabouts. Richard France, managing director of Oakgate Group, said the village is “the best and most sustainable location” for Harrogate Borough Council’s proposed new development, which promises to deliver more than 3,000 homes. In June 2018, Harrogate Borough Council announced that the preferred location for its settlement would be within the Green Hammerton and Cattal area, leading Oakgate to submit its planning application. France said: “Our proposals have been designed with Cattal railway station at the heart of the new settlement, which connects Maltkiln Village directly to Harrogate, Knaresborough and York in around 20 minutes and the centre of Leeds in less than an hour.” Oakgate began consultation on the plans during 2017 and held public exhibitions in May and July 2018. Following feedback from the public, Oakgate added an additional primary school, bringing the total to two, as well as a number of highways and junction changes. The site boundary was also extended to allow for communities around the main village centre that are within a sensible distance of neighbouring villages Green Hammerton, Kirk Hammerton, Whixley and Cattal. France added: “We have also had a number of specific suggestions such as requests for more bungalows and housing to enable local people to downsize, and that is something we will consider as part of the future detailed application stage.” Subject to planning permission, development is expected to begin in 2020, with completion of the first homes in 2022. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette