Harrogate Borough Council has defended the restoration of West Park Stray after the Stray Defence Association (SDA) labelled the grounds as dangerous.
The council said it has already removed “tonnes of stones” from the area before yesterday’s opening but there are some that still remain.
It comes after the SDA wrote to the leader of the council to say that the opening was premature and urged them to carry out an immediate inspection.
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Those calls for an inspection do not seem to have not been answered but the council has now responded to the SDA.
Councillor Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling said today:
“The suggestion that opening the West Park area of the Stray is dangerous is simply ridiculous. You’ve only got to look at the results this week to see the area is better than before and with the addition of the drainage system it can now be used throughout the year. The large stones have always been on this area of the Stray, we haven’t put them there.”
The councillor also said that the project “has not been taken lightly” and that it has been “months of hard work” with the appointment of a “multi-award winning specialist”.
He added: “Again, I’d like to thank everyone’s patience while we have carried out this work and thank them for the hundreds of positive comments we’ve received in just the last two days.”
