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Jan 2023

Last Updated: 24/01/2023

Community

Bid to protect Harrogate's Stray with common land status

by Vicky Carr

| 24 Jan, 2023

A campaign group has submitted an application to have the Stray in Harrogate registered as common land.

The Open Spaces Society (OSS) said registration could bring more protection for the Stray, requiring additional permission to hold events outside the existing restrictions.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, OSS case officer Hugh Craddock said it would make it more difficult to hold events that did not comply with the 1985 Stray Act, such as the 2019 UCI Road World Championships, which saw heavy rain and large crowds leave West Park Stray in need of extensive repairs.

He said:

"Our view is that, once registered, the protections afforded to common land generally would apply to the Stray as well.

"There would be an additional layer of consent which would have to be obtained for such events. That's not to say it would be impossible, but there would be another layer of protection."

The Stray Act 1985 appointed Harrogate Borough Council to guard it and residents' freedom to use it. When the new North Yorkshire Council comes into effect in April, it will take on that responsibility.

Among the restrictions under the act are a limit on the amount of space that can be used for events, and their duration. No more than 8.5 acres can be used for a maximum of 35 days per year.

A consultation was held in 2016 to extend the amount of time the Stray could be used for events, but the council said there was not public support for the proposal.

The OSS said it is trying to reverse a decision made in November 1966 to exclude the Stray from registration under the Commons Registration Act 1965. It has applied to North Yorkshire County Council to register the 200-acre parkland as common land.

Mr Craddock said:

"The decision in the 1960s to keep the Stray off the registers was understandable but misguided.

"Only a quarter of one per cent of registered common land was exempted from registration, and exemption proved to be both misleading and unhelpful.

"The Stray has always been common land, and ought to be registered as common land."

Once the application has been validated by the county council, Mr Craddock said the process of determining whether to register the Stray as common land is likely to take between six and 18 months.

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The OSS said the move would help to resolve some "inconsistencies" in the area of the Stray defined by different acts of Parliament in 1770, 1893 and 1985.

Mr Craddock referred to a small patch of grass adjacent to Harrogate District Hospital which used to be part of the gardens belonging to a house on the site of the hospital. Although it appeared to be part of the Stray, it was not officially Stray land.

In 2020, that land was identified as part of a 'land exchange' for a piece of verge alongside Otley Road which was part of the Stray. The Stray land was set to be adjusted as part of the cycle route being created by North Yorkshire County Council which required loss of the verge.

The OSS said officially recognising the Stray as common land could only further ensure its protection.

Commons registration officer Frances Kerner, who made the application on behalf of the society, added:

"Registration can only reinforce the protection already afforded to the Stray under the Harrogate Stray Act 1985. The land will also become protected under the Commons Act 2006.

"And registration will ensure that those who buy and sell land adjacent to the common are always notified of its protected status.

"We look forward to the council advertising the application in due course."

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Bid to protect Harrogate's Stray with common land status

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