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13
Nov
Harrogate's Stray lights in doubt as some trees remain unlit
Harrogate’s winter lights coverage remains patchy, as North Yorkshire Council considers their condition.
In one form or another, the Stray lights have been a feature of the town throughout the darker months for over half a century, decorating trees along West Park, Otley Road, Leeds Road, York Place and Montpellier Hill.
They are normally switched on when the clocks go back in October and remain lit from dusk to midnight until March, but this year they came on late, and not all of them are working. Those down Montpellier Hill are still not lit.
The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council what was going on. The council’s head of parks and grounds, Jonathan Clubb, told us:
The lights on the Stray are a popular sight in the run-up to Christmas and are appreciated by residents and visitors alike.
We are currently in the process of assessing the condition of the lamps and identifying areas where they may need to be repaired or replaced.
How Montpellier Hill usually looks at this time of year. Photo: Visit Harrogate.
Pressed on whether the lights, or any portion of them, would be axed this year, a council spokesperson declined to answer, simply repeating that the assessment was “underway”.
Any necessity to repair or replace lights will come as a surprise to many in the town, as they were all replaced in 2022.
In 2023, Harrogate Borough Council dipped into £30,000 of reserves earmarked for street lighting maintenance to pay for them.
The new LED versions were wrapped around trunks and branches of 40 trees, instead of being draped from bough to bough as previously, in order to prevent storm damage and help them last longer.
There are 1,000 LED bulbs per tree, and each tree uses 30 watts of energy, which it sources from nearby streetlights. The cost of maintaining and illuminating them costs around £10,000 per year, according to the council spokesperson.
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