Plans submitted to North Yorkshire Council for 14 new family homes in Ripon at former office site

The site was originally part of Ripon College before being rented to HM Inland Revenue and used as offices until the organisation moved out in 2009.

In 2020, the now-abolished Harrogate Borough Council granted permission for eight ‘live/work’ units on the site but according to planning documents, the developer struggled to find funding for the scheme due to the mix of residential and commercial not being covered by typical mortgages.

With the previous plans scrapped, Harrogate Borough Council accepted a change of use for the conversion of the main Athelstan Court building into 16 flats earlier this year.

According to the most recent plans submitted to North Yorkshire Council by Atzaro Box Clever Ltd, developing the remainder of the site would be a “natural extension” of the already approved plans.

The homes would be a mix of three and four-bedroom properties with 30 per cent being classed as ‘affordable’.

Access would be from Kearsley Road which joins the A6018 Palace Road and the nearest bus stops are located 700m away on North Road.

Ripon sits above a layer of gypsum, which is a water-soluble rock that leads to the formation of large underground caves that can collapse and the site is located within zone C of the area of gypsum risk.

A ground stability investigation found no presence of gypsum on the site, however specialists recommended that no development takes place in two areas where “negative anomalies” were identified.

Documents state the scheme would bring an unused brownfield site back into use: “The residential development of this vacant plot makes efficient use of a brownfield site in an established sustainable location, which will create 14 family homes in the district.

"There is an identified demand for family homes in Ripon.”

North Yorkshire Council will decide on the plans at a later date.