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12
Mar 2021
Last Updated: 16/03/2021
Could Harrogate's Queen Victoria monument be moved?
The white marble monument was given to the town in 1887 but consultation on the £7.8 million Station Gateway raises the prospect of it being moved.
Queen Victoria monument
Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam has raised concerns the £7.8 million Station Gateway project could lead to the town's Queen Victoria monument being moved.
The white marble monument on Station Parade was given to the town in 1887 and has looked down on many generations since.
But a consultation on the proposed gateway project, which would radically alter Station Parade, asks people for their views on moving the monument.
The consultation says:
"We have proposed changes to the way the space around the monument is used.
"These changes do not require the monument be moved but we would welcome people's thoughts on whether this is the best location for the monument.
"We appreciate this monument is very important to the community and any plans to move it would require extensive and meaningful engagement with the public and key stakeholders."
Read more:
- Former Home Guard club in Harrogate for sale
- Call for public to engage with Harrogate Station Gateway plans
Mr Neesam said he understood that in 1887, when Richard Ellis presented the statue, he inserted several covenants into the deed of gift, requiring that if any attempt were made to move the statue, the land should be offered back to the Ellis family.
It is not known whether the Ellis family still has any links with Harrogate but any attempt to move it could be problematic.
Karl Battersby, director of business and environmental services at North Yorkshire County Council, which is one of the councils behind the gateway project, said:
“The proposals put forward for consultation do not require the Queen Victoria monument to be moved.
"It is not our intention to move the monument, nor is it necessary to the scheme.”
Asked whether he was satisfied with the statement, Mr Neesam said:
"I am not re-assured by this statement. If they have no intention of moving the statue, why invite public opinion?"
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