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19
Jul 2023
Harrogate dog-walkers shocked by new barbed-wire fencing at showground
Residents of south Harrogate have been left “disappointed”, “shocked” and “upset” by the fencing off of a large section of the Great Yorkshire Showground, making it inaccessible to the public.
The area, a 41-acre green space between the Yorkshire Event Centre and Hookstone Beck, has long been a popular place to go for a stroll and walk the dog, but the site’s owner, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS), has decided to use it for grazing sheep instead.
Since the weekend, most of it has been lined with stakes and barbed wire to create stockproof fencing, and work is ongoing.
Jill Burrell, who lives in the nearby Saints area, told the Stray Ferret:
The 41-acre green space has long been a favourite spot for dog-walkers from the surrounding area.
Reader Sarah Millett contacted the Stray Ferret to say the move had "taken away" a benefit that previously compensated residents for putting up with the disruption caused by events at the showground.
The Great Yorkshire Show, for example, attracts about 140,000 visitors over a four-day period every summer, often causing long tailbacks on the town's roads.
This was a view echoed by Jackie Mahon, who walks her dog at the showground up to three times a week. She said:
She added:
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Charlie Cudworth, who walks his dog in the showground fields twice a day, contacted the Stray Ferret and said:
A sign put up by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society shows where the public may still walk, but all the paths skirt the edges of the green space. Photo: David Greaves.
The YAS told the Stray Ferret that appropriate signage was in place to direct the public, and access to public footpaths and bridleways remained unchanged, although the map it posted on a walking route did not appear to include a concrete path running through the middle of the site (as seen in our main picture).
In a statement, Allister Nixon, CEO of the YAS, said:
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