Footbridge over Scalby Beck, near Scarborough 'will now be built' after council rejects removal of ‘essential’ bridge from housing project

A proposed footbridge over Scalby Beck will now go ahead, according to the developer, which previously tried to remove it from the large housing scheme at High Mill, Scalby.

It follows a unanimous decision from the Scarborough and Whitby area planning committee in May, which voted to refuse permission to remove the requirement for the footbridge.

In a letter to locals sent on behalf of the developer, Lovell Partnerships, it was announced that the existing pedestrian and cycle route from Station Road is set to be retained and a new “foot/cycle bridge over Scalby Beck will connect to the existing route to the south”.

According to ID Planning, which wrote to locals on behalf of the developer, a detailed planning application for 212 new homes for the site will be submitted to North Yorkshire Council “in the coming weeks”.

The site was granted planning permission for up to 220 new homes in 2020 by the then-Scarborough Council.

Earlier this year, the applicant had sought permission to change the plans so it would not be required to build the pedestrian cycle bridge over the Scalby Beck River.

However, more than 60 members of the public wrote to North Yorkshire Council objecting to the plan, raising concerns that failure to build the bridge “would leave this estate and its young families isolated”.

The authority’s planning officers also stated that: “From a planning point of view, as officers, and also supported by the Highway Authority, it is our firm view that [the bridge] is essential to the sustainability of the development at High Mill Farm.”

Officers added: “Whilst we recognise that provision of the bridge is not entirely straightforward and there are some difficulties that have been accounted for, we feel it is fundamental to the original planning permission.”

The letter sent to residents on June 28 states that the 212 homes will be made up of one to four-bedroom properties with access via Mill Way.

Questions or comments on the plan can be sent to [email protected] by Friday, July 14.