Mainsgill Farm owenrs plan 75 homes at Ravensworth Nurseries site

The outline application seeks permission to demolish the vacant glasshouses and commercial buildings and replace them with a new residential development in Ravensworth, between Richmond and Barnard Castle.

Ravensworth Nurseries shut in July 2023, with the owners blaming the financial toll of lockdown, soaring energy bills, and the cost-of-living crisis for the closure.

The application has been submitted on behalf of Andrew and Maria Henshaw, who own nearby Mainsgill Farm.

Planning documents describe the former nursery buildings as increasingly derelict and in a state of disrepair.

Developers say the scheme would provide a mix of housing types.

The masterplan for the proposed housing in Ravensworth.

The applicant has indicated support for the council’s requirement that 30 per cent of homes on major developments should be affordable, subject to viability assessments.

Although the site lies outside Ravensworth’s official development boundary, planning documents argue it is not isolated and forms part of an existing cluster of residential and commercial properties on the edge of the village.

The application also highlights the site’s proximity to local services, including the village primary school, pub, village hall and bus routes connecting Richmond and Barnard Castle.

The proposed development would include areas of open space, children’s play facilities and extensive landscaping.

More than 30 per cent of the site is expected to remain as managed green space, while plans also include a biodiversity net gain of more than 10 per cent through habitat creation, new planting and improvements to a watercourse running along the northern boundary.

A transport assessment submitted with the application concludes that the development would have only a negligible impact on traffic levels when compared with the site’s former commercial use.

The report estimates the scheme would generate just one additional two-way vehicle trip during morning peak hours and five additional trips during the evening peak.

Developers argue the scheme would help address a shortage of housing land, support local services and schools, improve biodiversity and bring a long-vacant brownfield-style site back into productive use.

As the application is in outline form, detailed matters such as house designs, layout and landscaping would be considered at a later stage if planning permission is granted.