The location for the new community at Maltkiln was chosen by the-then Harrogate Borough Council following a rigorous selection process.
The Council’s Local Plan proposed a new settlement of at least 3,000 homes, to relieve development pressure on more sensitive areas of the district, such as the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB), and manage the scale of development that would be necessary in the district’s existing communities.
In 2023, Harrogate Borough Council merged into the new North Yorkshire Council unitary authority, which continues to support the proposed new settlement.
A significant reason for selecting this location was its ability to centre development around the existing rail station at Cattal, which offers opportunities to encourage walking, cycling and public transport use as sustainable travel choices.
Maltkiln will bring forward a range of services and amenities to benefit those living within the new community and the wider local area. These include two primary schools, an early years nursery, retail, health and sports facilities including pitches and changing rooms, alongside significant areas of open space, which will provide leisure, ecology and landscaping benefits.
Many of these amenities will be located around the existing Cattal railway station and will be connected by a new network of footpaths and cycleways, as well as new and improved bus services, to make them as accessible as possible to the existing communities in the area.
The project adheres to sustainable principles which encourage use of public transportation, including rail travel to and from Cattal station. The additional rail use that the Maltkiln development will generate, will contribute to the sustainability of the Harrogate to York service and further investment in this line.
Traffic modelling has been undertaken to establish the capacity of the existing A59 and how this could be affected by Maltkiln and other future developments in the area. As part of our proposals, we will encourage the use of public transport and monitor actual traffic levels to plan and implement measures such as road improvements, should it become evident that the capacity of the A59 or other local roads will be exceeded.
The Council’s Local Plan and Development Plan Document for Maltkiln both specifically avoided development occurring against the edges of the existing villages through the incorporation of a strategic green gap. We recognise the sensitivity of these neighbouring communities and respect their existing character.
Our proposals include ecological and landscaping improvements to the land within the strategic green gap, as well as making much of it publicly accessible so that it provides leisure and amenity benefits to the existing communities beyond it.
Our outline planning application includes an Environmental Statement that considers the potential impacts of our proposals. This document includes descriptions of the pre-development situation, what impacts development could have and sets out proposed measures to avoid, or at least minimise, adverse effects.
Maltkiln would be a large development but there are well established technical measures available to us which control rainwater flows and protect environmentally sensitive areas in a far more effective and consistent way than currently occurs on farmland.
At present, we expect to prepare and submit a further update of our outline planning application to North Yorkshire Council should members decide to adopt the Development Plan Document (DPD).
Provided that our outline planning application is subsequently approved, we would then proceed with reserved matters planning application for the first phases of the development.
In addition to the various planning stages, there will need to be technical approvals based on detailed design work for elements such as roads and sewers. This process could take a year given the scale of the infrastructure works required for Maltkiln.
Any compulsory purchase process would be led by North Yorkshire Council. The Council has agreed to the principle of compulsory purchase in the event that it is required to deliver the later stages of the scheme.