Empty Harrogate post office could now become 23 holiday apartments under latest plans

Developers Priestley Group recently withdrew previous plans for the Cambridge Road site and now wants to open 23 holiday apartments.

In plans submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, the Leeds-based firm said the 125-year-old building would become an "ideal base" for visitors in the "heart of the town centre".

It added further plans for retail space on the ground floor would "secure the active reuse of this long-standing vacant unit".

The latest submission for the empty building marks its third set of proposals in two years after the post office relocated to the WHSmith at the Victoria Shopping Centre in 2019.

This was despite a campaign by residents and Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones who were concerned that services would be “downgraded” under the move – something Post Office bosses have always disputed.

Previous plans for 11 apartments and retail space were revealed by Priestley Group earlier this summer.

However, these proposals were withdrawn after the developers said it received “far too late” feedback from the council which it claimed was "unwilling" to provide a time extension.

The council responded to say no pre-application enquiry was submitted by the developers and that it believed the plans were of a “poor standard”.

Before this, proposals for 25 flats, office and retail space, and a demolition of a rear extension to make way for car and cycle parking were submitted by Harrogate-based developers One Acre Group, but were withdrawn in June last year.

A decision on the latest plans is now expected from the council by October.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter