Harworth cues up 1.5m sq ft at Gascoigne Wood

Plans for the former colliery near Sherburn-in-Elmet have been scaled down from a 2019 application, and are recommended for approval next week.

North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee will consider the plans for Gascoigne Wood Interchange, within Selby district, on Tuesday 11 June, with officers recommending the go-ahead.

The main difference between this revised scheme and that refused in 2019 – a decision upheld at appeal in 2020 – is that the overall quantum of development has been reduced, from around 2m sq ft to 1.46m sq ft.

Unlike that proposal, the scheme is now entirely within the boundaries of the former colliery site, rather than intruding into the greenfield site to the north, while existing landscaping bunds, originally proposed to be removed, will now be retained.

Planner Stantec and architect The Harris Partnership lead Harworth’s professional team.

The 185-acre brownfield site is next to the Selby rail line, with Sherburn airfield adjacent. THP’s design & access statement said that the scheme will look to link into the rail network, offering occupiers the opportunity to transport freight by rail.

Explaining the evolution of the design, the DAS said: “Whilst the planning refusal was initially disappointing, it proved to be a real opportunity. In re-starting the project – but with the substantial knowledge of the site and its context that had previously accumulated – it has been possible to reconsider the constraints and opportunities of the site and develop a proposal that much better meets local needs.”

Officer and community feedback influenced the decision to limit development to just the brownfield site, THP said, while the previous plan to develop one single super-shed and container handling has been replaced by several, smaller units on the site, better respecting local context, and making it easier to respond to site constraints; the most significant of which is the close proximity of the runways at Sherburn Aero Club.

Two areas where the 2019 application fell down were that the site was unallocated, and that it was described as unsustainable in its relation and links to local communities. These situations have changed: Gascoigne Wood Interchange is identified as a proposed employment allocation in the emerging Selby Local Plan, while a travel plan has been agreed.

Travel and transport contributions as part of the suggested Section 106 agreement would total close to £300,000.

The plans can be viewed on North Yorkshire’s planning portal with the reference 2021/1531/EIA.

Outlnie approval is recommended, with officers concluding: “The current proposal represents a more appropriate scale of development to that considered at the appeal, which is compatible with the countryside location.”