Council approves delay to bridge plan at Scarborough’s High Mill estate despite risks

At a planning meeting on Thursday February 13, members of the area planning committee pushed through Lovell Partnerships’ proposal to delay building a bridge over Scalby Beck until the 50th home in its development at the High Mill estate in Scalby is occupied.

The plan previously required the pedestrian bridge – set to provide a direct link between High Mill and “essential day-to-day facilities, such as shops and schools” – to be completed before any properties were occupied.

Despite concerns raised by officers, councillors, and more than 70 residents, the committee decreed that approving the delay was the best way to ensure the completion of the overall scheme, which has permission for up to 220 dwellings.

Officers said there was an “approximate 18-month timeframe for the actual delivery of the bridge” and that Lovell would work on completing the bridge “in parallel” with the houses.

Speaking at the meeting, the agent for the applicant said the developer “understands residents’ frustrations and objections but Lovell is fully committed to the bridge.

“The proposed [delay] will enable complex discussions to take place and without delaying the construction of homes.”

An officer said: “It is a compromise but it is a better situation than no bridge or housing proceeding” and added that “the likelihood of the bridge being completed is increased by this delay”.

A bridge too far

Ward councillor Derek Bastiman echoed concerns previously raised by residents, asking the committee: “What happens if the developer cuts and runs after the occupation of the 49th dwelling?”

Coun Subash Sharma said: “I think this developer is serious and it would take some cataclysmic event for them to walk away after 50 houses.

"There is a risk but life is full of risks and this is one we should take.”

Officers noted that “development on the site has periodically stalled at various points since the first approval 15 years ago”.

Following a debate, councillors agreed to approve the scheme with a majority vote of four to one as residents watched on from the public gallery.

Attending the meeting, resident Andy Nattrass, who moved to the area three years ago, said: “One of the attractions of moving into that estate was because we were expecting there to be a bridge that would enable us to go into Newby and across to the North Bay much more easily.”

Commenting on the committee’s decision to approve the delay, he said he was disappointed but that he understood “why the council approved it, having listened to the debate”.

He added: “I’m still very nervous that we’re never actually going to see that thing constructed.”

Jackie Smith, another resident at High Mill, said she had originally opposed the delay but now accepted that it was “the right course of action” for the overall development to move forward.

However, Ms Smith, who is also a member of Newby and Scalby Town Council, added: “I have lived there for more than seven years and understood that the bridge would be ‘coming soon’ when I moved in, so it has been really disappointing to date to see delay after delay.”

“I hasten to add that I may well be using a mobility scooter by the time it’s open for use, rather than my plan to cycle,” she quipped.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the meeting, Coun Bastiman said he was “naturally disappointed” but added: “I’ve got to concede it is the best decision if that does secure the bridge because it is imperative for connectivity.

“I’ll be looking forward to being one of the first to walk over that bridge.”