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Apr 2020

Last Updated: 27/04/2020

Harrogate

EXCLUSIVE: Harrogate council will spend more than £200,000 restoring the Stray

by Connor Creaghan

| 27 Apr, 2020

The Stray Ferret can reveal that Harrogate Borough Council will spend more than £200,000 on the Stray's restoration after the 2019 UCI Road World Championships.

The Stray in late April.

The Stray Ferret can reveal that Harrogate Borough Council will spend more than £200,000 on the Stray's restoration after the 2019 UCI Road World Championships.

The council confirmed it has set aside "revenue expenditure of £150,000 or more" this financial year for the work. That's on top of the £51,000 it had already spent up to the end of January this year.

Lawnmowers are out on the Stray today with scarifying and re-seeding work starting this week. The restoration work is set to continue until autumn - a year on from when the championships started.

One thing that is unclear is who will foot the restoration bill. It could be Harrogate Borough Council and so ultimately the council taxpayers, Yorkshire 2019 Ltd which was set up to run the event, or their insurers.

What has the council done to restore the Stray?

By the end of January, the council had spent £51,000 on repair work, re-seeding on the West Park section and installing protective netting.

As of February, it had repaired damaged verges, restored bedding, repaired and opened all footpaths, and installed netting around waterlogged and unsafe areas.

The council has not released details of its restoration work since then or exactly what the £150,000 will be spent on. When asked for an update on progress, a council spokesperson said:

“We are addressing the historical drainage issues in the top corner of West Park Stray as well as re-seeding work.”

As well as repairing the damage, the work could include addressing the long-standing problem of flooding on West Park Stray, particularly if future events are being considered. Although, the council has said it is not taking bookings for the Stray until 2021.

The Stray Defence Association (SDA) has safeguarded the Stray since it formed in 1933 and was particularly outspoken when the UCI Road World Championships devastated the grounds.

While the SDA says it is sympathetic to council employees for the criticism they have received, it has been dedicated to pushing the council for answers and action ever since the championships.

Judy D'Arcy Thompson, from the SDA, told The Stray Ferret:

"I would venture to suggest that, understandably, whilst many will be angered that the SDA, or anyone, is taking an interest in the restoration of West Park Stray during the current exceptional circumstances, there are many who do wish to know. If nothing else, its renovation would make exercise and social distancing easier and, hopefully, there will be a time in the not too distant future when the people of Harrogate, especially the young footballers and school children, might also be able to use it freely again."