A1 business park set to expand as land talks begin

Negotiations go ahead after opposition

A YORKSHIRE council looks set to press ahead with plans to help create jobs through a large-scale expansion of one the region’s leading business parks.

Hambleton District Council’s chief executive is expected to use his delegated authority during the current coronavirus restrictions to help develop land at Leeming Bar, near Bedale, by launching negotiations with landowners to buy up to 30 hectares.

A council report says an established Leeming Bar business – which is not identified – needs up to nine hectares of land to develop and the authority would work alongside the firm to bring employment land forward in line with the Local Plan.

Some Leeming Bar residents are opposing proposals to expand the industrial estate, whose tenants includes frozen desserts giant R&R Ice Cream and Cawingredients, with objections made about the soundness of the site being allocated in the Local Plan in the first place. The strategic document sets out which local sites are considered most suitable for housing and commercial development in future.

On the Leeming Bar site, the council says working with the firm would enable it to share some of the costs of developing the land and “protect the general amenity of Leeming Bar for the residents and wider community”.

The report states the council has held a meeting with the eight landowners of the site close to the A1(M) and all had confirmed interest in selling their land. It

states: “A key strategic priority in the Council Plan is driving economic vitality. Unlocking growth potential through the development of a strategic employment site at Leeming Bar will have a direct and positive impact on employment and business growth for the district.”

North Yorkshire County Council

Coun Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Countil

leader Carl Les, who is a ward councillor for Leeming Bar, said it was inevitable that there would be pressure to develop sites for firms in areas close to motorway junctions. He said: “I would much prefer to see the district council bringing forward a proposal for the expansion of the business park. What we need now is a welllandscaped business park with ancillary businesses to the ones that are there.”

Coun Les said it was important that any development reflected the views of local residents and featured a buffer zone and action to ensure traffic does not negatively affect the village. He suggested the district council would seek to encourage alternative transport means for workers on the expanded site by using the Wensleydale Railway to ferry people from Bedale or Northallerton.

Meanwhile, the district council has been urged to help turn around the fortunes of its best known high street by offering empty premises at a very low cost to people who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19.

Business consultant David Cooper, who made the suggestion to the council, said he had been shocked by the decline of Northallerton High Street, which was “becoming an eyesore with so many empty shops”.

Asking about the idea, council leader Mark Robson said the authority was working very closely with businesses and landlords through its Vibrant mark Towns Strategy, which includes work on improving Zetland Street and the town’s ginnels, and the Treadmills development to turn the former prison site into a retail, leisure and business centre.

What we need now is a well-landscaped business park.