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24
Feb 2022
More than 100 people with passionate but different views about the future of Hell Wath Nature Reserve attended a meeting in Ripon last night.
The meeting, at Ripon Bowling Club, was organised by Keep Hell Wath Natural, a group concerned about clearance and other work at the reserve, including removal of a large area of hawthorn and blackthorn, the felling of trees and draining/de-silting of a pond.
The work is being done as part of the National Lottery-funded £2.5m Skell Valley Project, which involves work on a 12-mile stretch of the River Skell between Dallowgill Moor and Hell Wath.
Members of Keep Hell Wath Natural, along with local residents, dog walkers and people who have been visiting the area for up to 55 years joined representatives from the Friends of Hell Wath, the Skell Valley Project, and Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper at the meeting. It was chaired by independent city councillor Peter Horton.
Meeting organisers Janet Anderson (centre) and Brian Don, pictured in January in an area of Hell Wath where clearance works have taken place
Nabil Abbas
'Shocked' Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper. Picture: Tyler Parker Photography
Jeremy Dunford, spoke about improving accessibility
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