'Housing scheme would turn our village into a town'

Villagers said they opposed the scheme on land off Topcliffe Road

Residents have said that plans for almost 100 new houses would turn their village into a "town with no services".

Villagers in Dishforth, between Thirsk and Ripon, have hit out at government targets for new housing after being informed of a proposal for up to 98 new homes on land off Topcliffe Road.

They claim that despite two estates being built in the area in recent years, no additional services or infrastructure were added.

The outline application to North Yorkshire Council is being drawn up by developer Caddick, which said that Dishforth contained services that were akin to, or greater, than those found within other "service villages".

The government has set a target of more than 4,000 new homes a year for North Yorkshire - up from 1,384, the Local Democracy Service reports.

Recent new developments meant the village grew from 200 homes in 2018 to nearly 350 in 2025, and 20 homes were currently for sale.

Residents feel the scheme would take away from those who enjoy rural life

Resident Lindsay Gudgeon said: "No additional services were added as a result of the new houses, so we have a very limited public bus service and no shop, meaning everyone has to travel by car to access essential services.

"Dishforth is not suitable for further development at this scale and I fear the village would be taken away from those of us who moved here to enjoy rural life and turned into a town with no services."

According to the residents' group, a leaflet drop on the plans by Caddick missed "many" homes, while its own survey found that 93% of 216 people who replied were opposed to the scheme.

In a response to the concerns of the group, Caddick said Dishforth had been identified as a service village and a location for new housing in the Harrogate District Local Plan 2014-2035.

'Appropriate location'

A spokesperson said: "Given the scale of housing growth that North Yorkshire is required to deliver (particularly within the former Harrogate borough), the availability of services within the village and its proximity to the larger settlements of Ripon, Thirsk and Boroughbridge, it is considered that Dishforth represents an appropriate location for accommodating a very small amount of the borough's overall housing need."

Caddick said it had employed a courier to deliver the consultation leaflets to every home in the village.

The company confirmed it had been contacted by some residents who advised they did not receive a leaflet but had provided feedback online.

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