Tears of joy as Knaresborough land returns to the public after 250 yearsSale completed to save 60 acres of green belt at Knaresborough£300,000 share offer to help create Knaresborough Forest ParkLong Lands Common names wood after Harrogate conservationist

A newly planted woodland at Long Lands Common has been named after Harrogate conservationist Keith Wilkinson.

Mr Wilkinson founded Bilton Conservation Group and has played a key role in protecting local green belt land.

He was asked to unveil a new woodland sign on Saturday and to his surprise discovered it was named Wilkinson Wood.

The 1.62-hectare site consists of 740 trees that are a mixture of nine native broadleaf trees: sessile oak, English oak, wild cherry, bird cherry, common alder, aspen, field maple, hazel and goat willow.

The honour was bestowed at the third AGM of Long Lands Common, the community-owned woodland near Bilton created on land saved from the threat of a new road.

Keith Wilkinson at Oak Beck

Mr Wilkinson played a major role in that campaign as well as the project to open Nidderdale Greenway to walkers and cyclists. He was awarded an MBE in 2013.

He said:

“I opened my speech with the Greek proverb which says that a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. I was then ready to unveil the plaque before continuing with my speech. My jaw dropped when I discovered my name was on it. What a wonderful surprise!

“We’ve also planted over 50,000 trees in Nidd Gorge, and these will all link up together with Wilkinson Wood like a mosaic, with wildlife passing freely down the corridors.

“This is such positive news in a time when wildlife is really struggling on a local and national level. We all need to play our part in helping to support nature, and I commend everyone involved and thank them for all their hard work in creating Wilkinson Wood. I feel very honoured indeed.”

Chris Kitson, secretary of Long Lands Common, introduced Mr Wilkinson to the 100 people looking on as “the man who has done more than anybody else we know to bang the drum for nature and conservation”.

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The AGM also saw Long Lands Common members elect new board members, agree a new organisational structure and formally begin its partnership with Knaresborough Forest Park.

Talking about the partnership, Mr Kitson said:

”It made perfect sense and it was the right thing to do, and completely in line with our objectives as a community benefit society — to protect the green belt and the green spaces between Harrogate and Knaresborough, and preserve them as a space for education and recreation for the people of our towns, now and for the future.”

Knaresborough Forest and Long Lands Common campaigns to join forces

Two schemes to protect land between Harrogate and Knaresborough from development are to form a partnership.

The Knaresborough Forest Park campaign enabled 61 acres of farmland to be bought last month and turned into a green space and nature reserve.

It followed the Long Lands Common campaign in which 3,000 people bought shares to raise £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.

Land involved in the two projects meets at Bilton Hall Drive and the those involved now plan to work together on developing a wider vision for how it can best be managed for nature and the community.

Shan Oakes, from the Knaresborough Forest Park group, told a Knaresborough & District Chamber meeting last week it made sense for the initiatives to join forces as they had similar aims.

Ms Oakes added that because Long Lands had already been through the share buying process, it could take ownership of the legal process to buy and restore land in the ancient Knaresborough Forest, just outside the town.

George Eglese, who is also part of the Knaresborough Forest project, told the meeting the Long Lands initiative had inspired the “rebirth of Knaresborough Forest” and together the schemes would “create a barrier against development across the greenbelt”.

Celebratory walk

To celebrate the partnership, a walk and picnic will take place on April 29 from Nidd viaduct through Long Lands Common and Knaresborough Forest Park.

The walk will end at The Mitre pub in Knaresborough, where George Moore was born in 1928.

The Mitre

Mr Moore, who died in 2016, was a philanthropist and the George A Moore Foundation set up in his memory donated £410,000 to the Knaresborough Forest Campaign.

Mr Eglese said the community initiatives could, in the future, look at bringing together the greenbelt under a “unifying vision” that could encompass areas such as Nidd Gorge and Horseshoe Fields, all of which either adjoin the land being bought or are close to it.

Update: the walk on April 29 has been postponed until a later date

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Knaresborough forest campaign secures 61 acres from development

A Knaresborough voluntary group has bought four plots of farmland totalling 61 acres to turn into a community green space and nature reserve.

Renaissance Knaresborough launched a fundraising campaign in December to acquire privately-owned land between Knaresborough and Starbeck.

The land between Beryl Burton Cycle Way and the A59 Harrogate Road is not currently accessible to the public and there were fears it could one day be used for development.

The campaign aimed to prevent that by reinstating part of the ancient Knaresborough forest, with the land owned by individual shareholders and open to the public for recreation and conservation.

The campaign received £160,000 of pledges from individuals and organisations and a £410,000 donation from the George A Moore Foundation in Leeds. George Moore, a successful businessman who died in 2016, was born and raised in Knaresborough.

An interest-free philanthropic loan by We Have The Power, an organisation set up by impact investor Julia Davies to empower community groups to improve local biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis, enabled a bid to be submitted to the land agents.

However, the campaigners now need to raise about £300,000 to pay back the loan. They hope to raise the sum within six months.

Liz Baxandall, chair of Renaissance Knaresborough, said:

“The combination of the loan, substantial donations and community pledges have enabled Renaissance Knaresborough to realise its dream of protecting the greenbelt and delivering such a wonderful legacy project.

“Julia’s last-minute loan enabled us to secure all the land, a goal we had thought was unrealisable.

“We are so very grateful for all the amazing support we are receiving to protect over 60 acres of beautiful greenbelt countryside between our towns.”

Knaresborough Forest

Campaigners celebrate the land purchase

The campaign is similar to the successful Long Lands Common initiative that raised £375,000 to buy 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.

Fears over green belt

Ms Baxandall said there were major concerns about the amount of building going on and the protection of green belt land.

Knaresborough Forest Park, she said, would “involve all ages working together to create a really special haven for nature and humans”, adding:

“We will pay off the philanthropic loan with the money people are pledging so please keep those pledges coming in.

“Pledges to buy community shares send a very clear message that Knaresborough Forest Park is hugely important to people. Over 900 people have already pledged. We cannot thank you all enough.”

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The fields were once the eastern end of the ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough. The land adjoins Long Lands Common at one end and drops down towards the River Nidd at the other.

George Eglese, a director of Knaresborough Forest Park, said:

“The land is already home to many species of flora and fauna with magnificent old hedges, streams, wetlands, and grasslands.

“There are panoramic views, taking in the town, the castle and St. John’s, which provide a fantastic opportunity to tell tale of ancient Knaresborough and the forest.

“The community has come together and achieved something to be incredibly proud of, something that will be there for many generations to come.”

 

£405,000 campaign to restore public access to 41 acres of the old Knaresborough Forest

A fundraising campaign has been launched to buy 41 acres of land that used to be part of the Forest of Knaresborough and restore it to public use.

The privately-owned land, between Beryl Burton Cycle Way and Harrogate Road, is being put up for sale. It is not currently accessible to the public.

The community group Renaissance Knaresborough has begun a campaign to buy the land and replicate the successful Long Lands Common campaign, which raised £375,000 to buy 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.

Campaigners say the move would not only enable people to enjoy a nature-rich area of land that is currently out of bounds but also boost biodiversity by improving wildlife and providing educational opportunities. It would be called Knaresborough Forest Park.

Renaissance Knaresborough wants people to buy shares in the land, which would entitle shareholders to become members of the parkland project with voting rights — similar to Long Lands Common. It has already secured pledges worth more than £26,000, 

An appeal statement by Liz Baxandall and Bill Rigby, chair and treasurer respectively of Renaissance Knaresborough, said:  

“A piece of land is being prepared for sale. If it remains in private hands, as it is now, it will be a large tract of land within the town boundary to which we have no access.

“Our plan is to raise funds from our community to acquire it for the common good, manage it with care and let it be a haven for recreation, education and fun for
generations to come.

“Pledges are urgently needed so our community can purchase this farmland to create a beautiful tree-rich natural parkland; a protected haven for wildlife and people that we’d call Knaresborough Forest Park.”

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The group is urging people to make pledges “urgently” in the hope of raising sufficient funds to buy the land while it remains on the market.

At this stage people are only being asked to to register an interest to buy community shares. Pledges are not legally binding and money will not be transferred until a later date.

The land, which connects with Mackintosh Park, off the Beryl Burton Cycle Way, once belonged to the Forest of Knaresborough, a hunting forest that covered 45 square miles.

The statement by Ms Baxandall and Mr Rigby said:  

“We have already lost so much green space locally. We are asking all from far and wide to pledge today as an individual or organisation to buy community shares to empower local people, so together we can protect more land.

“Shares will only go on sale once there is enough interest shown by individuals, businesses and community organisations.”

Further details are available here.

Long Lands Common ponds ready for habitation

Three ponds have been built and filled at Long Lands Common with the hopes of encouraging newt habitation.

The ponds began construction in late January after planning permission was granted for the project.

It is unclear how long it will take before the ponds become inhabited by Great Crested Newts as migration will occur naturally over time.

The project was completed in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust and Natural England which helped to fund it.

It is part of a larger scheme which began in 2020 when a group of stakeholders bought the land to create Harrogate’s first common wildlife area between Bogs Lane and Bilton Lane and prevent development.

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The common was opened to the public in summer 2021.

Long Lands Common secretary Chris Kitson said:

“The pond building was the first step to transform the area from a farm to a nature reserve, we’ve got a lot lined up to make the area more biodiverse.”

The group has also just finalised their woodland creation plan which involves the planting of trees and a variety of plants. They hope to begin a large scale scheme of planting in Autumn of this year.

In 2020, around 3,000 people bought shares in the land. The appeal raised £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near the Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.

An official open day was held on the land for people who pledged money in July.

Three newt ponds to be built at Long Lands Common

Work will begin in January to build three ponds for Great Crested Newts at Long Lands Common in Harrogate.

The team behind the community-funded nature reserve and woodland between Bogs Lane and Bilton Lane hopes the ponds will become a flagship for biodiversity in the area.

The ponds will be built in places that already have seasonal flooding and semi-wetland communities.

Surveys have found the common toad, common frog, smooth newt and Great Crested Newts all within 2km of the site. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will carry out the works.

The animals will use the ponds to breed between March and June and will use the habitat that Long Lands Common will provide for the rest of the year.

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The Long Lands Common December newsletter says:

“Given the situation of the site close to an existing pond, and with the landscape corridors provided by the railway cutting and Bilton beck, once habitats on-site start to become more natural, it is very likely that this baseline will increase in both diversity and absolute numbers as well as the additional benefits for species diversity and human enjoyment of the site that the presence of the ponds will bring.”

In 2020, around 3,000 people bought shares in the land. The appeal raised £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near the Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.

An official open day was held on the land for people who pledged money in July.

A detailed plan for the site is set to be submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in February. Thousands of trees will eventually be planted there.

Long Lands Common set to open to members for the first time

Long Lands Common is preparing to welcome visitors for the first time next month shortly after the expected end to lockdown restrictions.

The group behind the community woodland project has said it will hold an official opening day and meeting on July 24, starting at 11am.

It will still be subject coronavirus regulations.

Around 3,000 people bought shares in the land. The appeal raised £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.

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The committee has said that after the meeting it will ask volunteers to help with a “bio blitz” survey and bulb planting, finishing with a public picnic.

Anyone who would like to attend the opening day has been asked to register their attendance by filling out a small form here.

Secretary of Long Lands Common, Chris Kitson, told the Stray Ferret:

“It will be a great day. This will be the first opportunity for most of the members to see the land and contribute to the area.

“There are plenty of things we need to talk about at the meeting, we need to decide how much we change the land, how much access we have for dogs and more.

“Currently it is just going to be open for members. In order to open for the public we need to change the use of land through planning.”

The future of Long Lands Common, once earmarked for a relief road, finally looks secure for wildlife.

It is first and foremost a nature reserve but the goal is for the public to enjoy it too.