50 houses approved for Hutton Rudby despite objections

Proposals for the housing development, on 3.6 acres of land next to Garbutts Lane, Hutton Rudby, near Stokesley, were given the go-ahead in principle on Thursday (October 10) at a Richmond Planning Committee meeting. 

Garbutts Lane in Hutton Rudby (Image: GOOGLE MAPS) Following the decision, it's paved the way for developers Broadacres Housing and Mulberry Homes to build the 50 properties, which will include 15 affordable homes, 35 market houses, a community orchard and wildlife habitats.

The dwellings will range in size from single-bed units to three-bed properties with single-storey, detached, semi-detached and terrace house types.

The area of development in Hutton Rudby (Image: PLANNING) This comes after a long, drawn-out battle between villagers, parish councils, agencies and developers that has lasted three years and spans three different consultations.

An application for the homes was initially submitted in 2021 for 79 properties on two patches of land on Garbutts Lane - but, over time, has been amended to the 50 houses that will now be built. 

A design overview of the housing (Image: PLANNING) During the three stages of consultations, which were carried out between December 2021 and June 2024 - a total of 170 objections were received, while the development received five letters of support.

Those in support of the application cited the need for affordable housing in the village and the fact it will help younger and older people find this type of housing. 

But, in contrast, objection issues ranged from the size of the housing estate, the houses not in keeping with the rest of the village, the development being in open countryside greenfield land, and that there wasn't enough affordable housing assigned. 

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These objections included several concerns raised by Rudby Parish Council, which noted that transport and highway issues could be made worse by the addition of the homes.

At the meeting, objector Derek Simpson gave an impassioned speech about why the application should be refused - noting that the development had "Too many policy errors" to fit into his three-minute speaking opportunity.

Mr Simpson believes that the issues surrounding housing needs and biodiversity are two factors that should have seen the application refused.

He said: "If this proposal is approved - it will be very difficult to turn down other applications in the future."

Another objector who spoke at the meeting was Alan Mortimer, from Rudby Parish Council, who took issue with the fact that a further 25 homes were approved in 2017 previously and are yet to be built.

"Our main issue is scale - this application would increase the housing by ten per cent in the village at such a small scale of time.

"If it is approved - there should be plenty of conditions added to this."

On the other side of the application, the meeting heard from Ronnie Baird, who spoke on behalf of the applicant and noted how the applicants had "positively" made changes throughout the application stage and had amended proposals "for the better".

Mr Baird said: "This application is a high-quality design that meets planning policy and will meet the needs of young people trying to get homes and elderly people looking to downsize."

Despite the objections, which were 'overwhelming' according to one of the villagers present at the meeting on Thursday, the application got a 'minded to grant' decision after the Richmond planning committee backed it. 

Summing up the reason for a 'mind to grant' on the application, the committee noted: "Overall, while the amended scheme represents a large windfall development on the western edge of the village with a detrimental impact on the character of the countryside that is part of the setting of the village, there are nevertheless positive benefits related to a scheme of this size that is considered to outweigh the detrimental impact."

The approval for the development will now be subject to an assessment from Historic England, a submission from the flood authority and a completion of a section 106 agreement.