‘It’s a once in a generation opportunity to enhance Easingwold’s sustainability credentials and liveability.’
Jonathan Saddington
Last Thursday (16th March 2023), Jonathan Saddington represented Jomast Developments at Hambleton District Council’s final Planning Committee, securing unanimous approval for a food store, a fuel station, medical facilities, a 60-bed care home, 45 apartments and 51 bungalows for senior or assisted living, and 70 new dwellings on an unallocated site in Easingwold.
Despite being a market town and one of the largest settlements in Hambleton, Easingwold currently has no supermarket or fuel station – a cause of significant inconvenience for residents. The town also has an aging population, creating a significant need for senior living accommodation, care facilities, and modern medical facilities. The proposed development will go some way to alleviating all of these problems, creating transformational change for the local community.
Speaking to the Planning Committee, Mr. Saddington said “I believe that this is a unique and timely opportunity to deliver essential services for local people. Easingwold is a fantastic place to live and work, but the absence of a supermarket, petrol filing station and modern medical facilities does have a negative impact on the community. The proposed development seeks to redress local deficiencies by providing facilities that the town really needs. It’s a once in a generation opportunity to enhance Easingwold’s sustainability credentials and liveability.
Prior to submitting the application we held a public consultation event at The Galtres Centre… The event was extremely well attended. Over 93% expressed support for the supermarket, petrol filling station and medical facilities. 85% considered the site to be a suitable location for the proposed development.
I’ve hosted public consultation events for about 10 years now and I have never witnessed similar levels of support for a large scheme. I would say that it’s unprecedented.”
The Committee seemed to agree, with elected members for Easingwold speaking persuasively in favour of the proposals and the Committee eventually voting unanimously to approve the application – a fantastic result for our client.
Saddington Taylor’s involvement in the site dates back several years, having previously helped to secure permission for a smaller development in the northern part of the site via an appeal hearing in 2017. We will continue to support Jomast Developments as they look to bring this exciting project to fruition.