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11
Mar
Harrogate’s ‘little temple’ destined for tip
The tempietto on Station Square in Harrogate is to be demolished and taken to a tip.
North Yorkshire Council has granted itself final approval to get rid of the structure as part of the £14.6 million Harrogate Station Gateway, which will see major changes to the area.
A campaign group led by local businesses is locked in a legal battle to prevent the scheme from going ahead. If it fails, the tempietto’s days are numbered.
The council granted itself outline permission, subject to conditions, to remove the tempietto, which it also describes as a ‘bandstand’, in March 2023.
Postmaster Andrew Hart offered to relocate the structure in Starbeck, where one of his two post offices is based, but never had a response.
Station Square will be re-landscaped as part of the gateway scheme.
Now council case officer Josh Arthur has said a council method statement detailing how the tempietto will be disposed is “acceptable” and has granted final planning approval.
The method statement says:
Works to tempietto will be undertaken in conjunction with construction of the wider Station Square proposals. Total duration of works 205 days.
A separate site clearance specification report by council consultants WSP says the tempietto will be “taken down, and disposed of to tip off site”.
The report also gives details of how the rest of the site will be cleared to make way for the transformation of Station Square.
It says trees and vegetation, traffic signs and a concrete planter will also be sent to a tip
The tempietto, which is Italian for ‘little temple’, was built between 1988 and 1992 as part of the redevelopment of the area to create the Victoria Shopping Centre.
Made of Jedburgh sandstone, its classical design was based on the work of 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio’s basilica at Vicenza in Italy. It is situated inside is inside Harrogate Conservation Area.
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