Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
21
Sept
Extra £12,000 to be spent on security at Harrogate Remembrance Day
Harrogate Town Council is set to spend £12,000 on security measures for this year’s Remembrance Day commemorations.
The event, which will be held at the war memorial on November 8, 2026, includes a civic service after a parade through the town centre.
In a report due before a town council events, culture and heritage committee, Paul Forster, events officer at the authority, said the event “is considered to present an elevated security risk”.
Mr Forster said this was due to the town’s proximity to the Army Foundation College on Penny Pot Lane and RAF Menwith Hill, together with the involvement of local military personnel and dignitaries.
He said current parade protection arrangements were limited to basic traffic cones and were “no longer considered sufficient”.
Mr Forster added it was “best practice” to adopt preventative measures, which will later come into force under national legislation know as Martyn’s Law.
The act was named after Martyn Hett who was killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terror attack in May 2017.
In his report, Mr Forster said:
While Martyn’s Law has not yet come into force, the guidance shared through the safety advisory group specifically direct organisers to ProtectUK material relating to premises and events scope, top tips and related security resources.
In this context, it is best practice to adopt proportionate protective measures now, rather than wait for the legislation to take effect.
The proposal would see the council commission a company to install “hostile vehicle mitigation units”, such as H-stops and metal safety barriers at key points across the route of the parade.
The road blocks proposed for the parade. Picture: Harrogate Town Council.
A barrier system would be put in place where the parade joins the main road on West Park. Mr Forster said this would be where “stronger separation is required between the parade and live vehicle movements”.
Mr Forster said a quote from Crowd Guard, which is based in Wigan, to carry out the work for the event at a cost of £12,195 was considered “best value”.
A separate quote from Oxfordshire-based NES Security Services of £14,799 is also included in the report.
Councillors will discuss the proposals at a meeting on Wednesday (September 23) at Harrogate Community House.
0