Councillors have approved plans by the Royal Horticultural Society for new facilities at its Harlow Carr Gardens site including a workshop, drainage pond, storage, staff building, polytunnel and glasshouse.
The application was decided by the Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee this afternoon as the site is leased to the RHS by landowner North Yorkshire Council.
All of the changes in the application relate to the service yard which is not accessible to the general public.
RHS Harlow Carr is one of the most popular attractions in Harrogate due to its array of plants and last year it welcomed 460,000 visitors, according to the society.
The plans were recommended for approval in an officer’s report which said it would give the tourism staple a boost.
Cllr Paul Haslam (Independent, Bilton & Nidd Gorge) said he supported the scheme but queried why the RHS hadn’t used the opportunity to improve sustainability at the site.
He also asked if the RHS had a licence to discharge sewage into a beck that runs to its southern edge.
Cllr Haslam said:
“If I were Harlow Carr and a major organisation in horticulture, I’d include some sort of sustainability or minimising waste approach, was there any mention of that?”
Council planning officer Nick Turpin was unable to confirm if the RHS had the licence but said the organisation has traditionally been committed to sustainability.
Mr Turpin said:
“In the RHS magazine sustainability is very high up on their agenda.
"This application is not the beacon of sustainability that you might want but it doesn’t mean they won’t do that in the future.”
The plans were backed unanimously by councillors following a brief debate.
Cllr Chris Aldred (Liberal Democrat, High Harrogate & Kingsley) said: “I recently visited the reopened Harrogate Arms and had a quick nosey at Harlow Carr, it could do with a bit of TLC. There’s been no objections whatsoever and the neighbours are quite happy with it.”
Earlier in the meeting, chair Cllr John Mann (Conservative, Oatlands & Pannal) confirmed that an item related to two padel courts at Harrogate Sports & Fitness Club had been withdrawn, to the surprise of two members of the public who had come to observe.
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