Concerns raised over plans to build 320 homes next to a sewage treatment works

Property firm Keyland Developments wants to transform the 23-acre site at Broomfield Farm into a housing development in a move that could create 800 jobs.

The vacant site sits close to Stainsacre Lane – between Whitby and Scarborough, Eskdale Park and Whitby Business Park.

Whitby Civic Society, while not formally objecting, has written a letter to Scarborough Council outlining some areas of concern it has.

Its letter stated: “While we accept the need for new housing in the town, we would like to see far greater provision for affordable housing, ideally aimed at local residents rather than second homes or holiday lets; and we urge the borough council to treat the development as an opportunity to create a model inclusive ‘Green Village’ that will be a national example of sustainable design.”

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The application would see 30 percent of the homes classed as affordable, with the civic society preferring a 40 percent target.

The greenfield site is located next to Yorkshire Water’s operational sewage treatment works. Keyland Developments is a sister company of Yorkshire Water.

Whitby Town Council has objected as it fears the site is too close to the sewage plant saying it is an “inappropriate development”.

Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary and a local farmer have both also opposed the plans.

The new development will “cater for different housing providers” Keyland says, including “self and custom build, community land trust housing, later living housing, small to medium-sized housebuilders and volume housing builders”.

The application site has been split into four distinct development sections and the masterplan allows for apartments, bungalows, terraced houses, townhouses, semi-detached houses and detached houses, with the primary focus being the provision of three and four-bedroom properties to cater for local needs.

When the plans were revealed earlier this year, Luke Axe, strategic land and planning manager at Keyland Developments, said that Broomfield Farm was an example of a new approach to homebuilding.

He added: “Supporting the local economic and housing requirements whilst being sensitive to the site’s setting has been our priority whilst devising the masterplan for this strategic site.

“As a major landowner in the region, we see it as our responsibility to take the lead in diversifying the current housing offer, catering more appropriately to the full spectrum of demographic need.”

The hybrid planning application is now out to public consultation.

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