E-mails sent by Anne Lee to Mike Parkes of the Harrogate Planning Department
 

31 October 2023

Mike Parkes

Planning Department

Harrogate

Menwith Hill Station

Planning Application ZC23/036822/FUL

Temporary Widening of B 6451 and Alterations to Access at Steeplebush Gate

It would appear that the all-knowing NSA is not as knowledgeable as they would like to have us think. Having reconfigured the Main Gate and Nessfield Gate entrances, they have now discovered that it is not possible to take a massive articulated vehicle into the base and therefore need to alter the access through Steeplebush Gate by widening the B6451 and the internal road.

I should like to submit the following observations and objections. 

1. The plans are stated to be ‘temporary’, so presumably the alterations are intended for only one delivery? (!) But the felling and cutting back of trees is not a ‘temporary’ measure.

2. The proposed hardstanding on the west side of the B6451 would be an encroachment into the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The AONB boundary was tightly drawn to exclude Menwith Hill on the grounds that it is ugly. Although this development could be considered ‘de minimis’, a concession to any development outside the existing boundary might be the thin end of the wedge.

3. No assurances have been given that the verge will be restored to its natural condition and that trees will be planted on a two-for-one basis to replace those felled. 

4. Has the culvert under the Steeplebush Gate access been assessed to gauge whether it will withstand the weight of the vehicle and its load?

5. Has the road inside the station been assessed to gauge whether it can carry the vehicle and its load?

6. Electricity cables (2 X 33 megaWatt) from the National Grid depot on Harrogate’s Jennyfield Estate lead into Menwith Hill crossing this proposed development area. Because the B6451 has been resurfaced, their courses along and across the road are no longer visible on the surface. Inside the base they run beneath the area designated to be widened. Will the extension require excavation? Has the contractor for the development been informed of their presence?

7. British Telecom has 2 fibre-optic cables positioned under the east verge of the road (one of them running diagonally across Steeplebush Gate entrance) and a third under the west verge crosses the road to connect it to the station immediately north of the culvert. As they are supposedly secret installations, perhaps the contractor has not been apprised of their presence.

I should hate to think that our national security could be compromised by damage to the NSA’s and CIA’s communications.

In light of the above observations, I believe the proposal should be submitted to a full impact assessment and not given automatic grant of consent under ‘permitted development’ regulations.

Yours sincerely, 

Anne Lee (e-signature)

1 November 2023

Mike Parkes

Planning Department

Harrogate Council

Menwith Hill Station

Planning Application ZC23/036822/FUL

Temporary Widening of B 6451 and Alterations to Access at Steeplebush Gate

Invalid Planning Application?

Since writing to you yesterday it has occurred to me that the above planning application may be unlawful. The proposed alterations to the Steeplebush Gate access are intended to facilitate the conveyance into Menwith Hill Station of sizeable structure(s) for which no planning consent has been granted, as no application for them has been submitted. 

In such case Harrogate Council’s Planning Department does not have the authority to permit road alterations to facilitate unlawful development, thus this application should be deferred to allow enquiries to be made by the council’s Legal Department and until such time as consent has been granted for the construction. 

It may be that the said structure(s) comprise the ‘Telecommunications Facility’, for which permission was awarded 17 months ago (PA 21/04405/FUL). The dimensions of the main ‘Tin Can’ building are 13.6m X 3m X 2.9m, a modular unit designed to stand on metal legs. Could it be that nobody gave any consideration as to how exactly it was possible for the Tin Can to be transported to and into the station?

If it should be delivered as air freight to Leeds/Bradford Airport, it is to be hoped that the transporting vehicle does not attempt to take it through Pool or Otley to access the B6451.

Yours sincerely,

Anne Lee (e-signature)