St Wilfrid’s Church
Passions are running high in the Duchy area of Harrogate, around St Wilfrid’s Church. The PCC, who are responsible for the only Grade 1 listed church in the town, which needs repairs to its roof, have done a deal with NEDL over an electricity substation in the grounds. There is a sizeable piece of underused land by the church and Harrogate, I am reliably informed, desperately needs more relay capacity. (I think that’s the term although I am far from an expert in things electrical).
The proposed substation is large and the rent paid to the church would be substantial. This week’s Harrogate Advertiser has illustrated it with a picture of double decker buses stacked on top of each other. The plans are on the Council’s website and show the architect’s drawings which look quite a lot better than the buses.
The Council is taking its time over the decision – their website shows that the application was submitted in April 2009 and the target determination date was at the end of July 2009. But there is still no firm date – would I be thought cynical if I voiced the view that it is unlikely to be resolved before the election? No matter what the reason, this application is well outside the normal time limits applied to planning applications.
Clearly it is not an easy or straightforward decision – we need the relay station and the church needs money, and particularly because it is a listed building it should be maintained in good condition. I think the architects have made a reasonable job of trying to design a utilitarian building sympathetically.
But I don’t think that the substation is the right solution to the funding challenge that St Wilfrid’s faces. It’s just too big. The impact on the listed building would be, in my view, completely unacceptable.
I await the Council’s decision with interest.
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