CAMPAIGNERS are today urging Harrogate councillors not to back the plan for a new 3,000 home village near Green Hammerton.

The district’s Local Plan is being drawn up, and later today a draft version is to be approved. That draft includes the major new settlement in countryside between York and Harrogate, but campaigners around the villages of Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton have sent members of the key committee a “compelling analysis” of the new town plan.

Chris Chelton, chairman of Keep Green Hammerton Green, said: “Disappointingly Harrogate Borough Council is still recommending Green Hammerton for the new town, despite an overwhelming number of objections to this plan. However the actual proposed site for the 3,000 houses is now more unclear than previously with a distinct lack of clarity.”

Several different sites have been considered for a new settlement and the current option is a hybrid of two developments “Great Hammerton” and another centred around Cattal named Maltkiln.

Mr Chelton believes the analyses of the different sites are “methodologically unsound”, and the campaigners are concerned over the lack of a gas supply, infrastructure and rail connections. They plan to vigorously challenge this latest development, Mr Chelton added.

However Cllr Rebecca Burnett, the district’s cabinet member for planning, said the council believes it has come up with a plan which is right for the area, and encourages housing and jobs growth over the next 20 years.

She also said the council has already held four public consultations and had numerous discussions over the different site options - and another public consultation will follow after the plan is considered by district councillors.

Cllr Burnett added: “The Local Plan has the potential to deal with several major issues facing our district - in particular the lack of housing and employment opportunities. It is in our interest to produce a Local Plan which is right for the whole community and which will help our district prosper in the future.”