A Yorkshire developer and landowner are set for a high court showdown this month over a potential 2,500-home development site.
York-based Skelwith Group is in dispute with local farmers the Armstrong family, local developers the Ward family and their related companies over the site of the Flaxby Park golf course.
Skelwith agreed to buy the 280-acre parcel of land in North Yorkshire from the Armstrongs for £7m in 2008.
In 2010, consent was granted for a 300-bedroom hotel, but Skelwith ran into difficulty making repayments to the Armstrongs after the recession.
The Armstrongs made arrangements to recoup some of their money by selling the land to the Wards, before Skelwith blocked the sale with a court order, claiming it undervalued the land. Skelwith now hopes to build 2,500 homes on the site.
Skelwith cited a GVA valuation of £27.5m, based on the hope value of the housing scheme.
The Armstrongs and the Wards had been seeking a court order to allow the sale to go ahead, while Skelwith refuted the claims and defended the land valuation.
