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18
Dec 2022
Harrogate council error sees Pinewoods conservation miss out on over £30,000
Pinewoods Conservation Group has criticised Harrogate Borough Council after an administrative error meant £32,400 that should have been spent improving the woodland over the last 10 years was not allocated.
The council-owned Pinewoods is a 96-acre woodland close to Harrogate's Valley Gardens popular with walkers. Although the area is managed by the council, the Pinewoods Conservation Group charity promotes its maintenance and conservation.
A flurry of new housing developments has occurred near to the Pinewoods in recent years. After being granted planning permission, developers agree to pay money to the council through section 106 agreements to improve local infrastructure.
Since 2019, Pinewoods Conservation Group has pressed the council to allocate some of this section 106 money to the Pinewoods to improve things like footpaths and signage.
After a council report in January revealed the authority had £3.7m in unspent section 106 money, the charity again asked it if any of this money could be spent on the Pinewoods before the council is abolished in 2023.
But in an email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Tim Myatt, Conservative cabinet member for planning, told the charity this money had already been committed to other sites.
The charity responded by saying it was “very surprised” section 106 money would not be spent on the Pinewoods, “especially with the amount of building work underway and planned within the area”.
The Pinewoods
Cllr Myatt responded to the charity again this week to say that following an investigation by officers, the council found three instances when money, worth a combined valued of £32,400, should have gone to the Pinewoods but didn’t due to “administrative and processing” errors.
In the email, Cllr Myatt apologised and said the funds could have been “put to good use” by either Pinewoods Conservation Group or the council. He said:
A spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group said it was “very disappointed” the Pinewoods had missed out on the money due to the error. They added:
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A council spokesperson said:
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