Subscribe to trusted local news
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.
07
Oct
'Temporary' fencing at Crescent Gardens remains two years on - but why?
Two years have passed since fencing was erected at Harrogate's Crescent Gardens to block a group of rough sleepers.
The fencing, which was put up after a rough sleeping encampment was set up at the pavilion in September 2023 and prompted concerns of antisocial behaviour, was originally labelled a "temporary" measure by North Yorkshire Council.
But the fencing appears to have become a permanent fixture in the town, as the council has since said there are "no plans" to remove it, and fears doing so would only attract further antisocial behaviour.
The Stray Ferret has covered the issue extensively over the years, including asking the council what long-term measures are being taken to address homelessness locally.
Two years on, we asked the council if it plans to keep the fencing at Crescent Gardens for good — and if so, why — and what it has done to address homelessness over the last two years.
The council’s corporate director for community development, Nic Harne, said:
There are currently no plans to remove the fencing at Crescent Gardens. If it is removed, unfortunately the area is likely to attract anti-social behaviour.
We will always try to provide support to anyone who finds themselves homeless. Earlier this month, we adopted our first-ever homelessness and rough sleeping strategy which reaffirms our ambition to protect vulnerable people and support communities.
In 2024/25, £8.5million was spent on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping across North Yorkshire. This was made up of £4.3m on staffing costs, £2.7m on temporary accommodation and £1.5m on prevention.
Last year, we also approved £11.6m to support the development of additional temporary accommodation for the homeless. Our new strategy is backed by funding earmarked in our second homes council tax premium strategy.
Nearby resident Eileen Dockray originally raised concerns over the rough sleeping group, who inhabited the pavilion for two weeks at the time.
Ms Dockray said in 2023 the encampment gradually expanded and people were congregating at the site to "have a drink and chat", she said.
The rough sleepers were eventually evicted by the council's property services division and North Yorkshire Police officers, but they returned just days later.
Another nearby resident, Kirk Wilber-Moran, told the Stray Ferret at the time some of the rough sleepers took over the bandstand at Crescent Gardens and stood in shop doorways "drinking cider at 6.45am".
After being removed from the site for a second time, metal fencing was swiftly erected at the front of the pavilion and has remained there since.
Ms Dockray recently told the Stray Ferret people have managed to by-pass the fencing and antisocial behaviour remains a pertinent issue in the area.
She claimed:
Before I came away [in September] two men were sleeping in there. Before that there have been odd occasions when skateboarders and drinkers would find a way in. I would say it has been a deterrent but it’s a shame that such a lovely building has been neglected for so long!
There is a lot of drinking that goes on in Crescent Gardens during the night, which results in rubbish left behind. This is also a problem at the colonnade in Valley Gardens, where huge amounts of rubbish and broken bottles are left behind.
When the Stray Ferret went to the site on Monday (October 6), there were seemingly empty bottles strewn across the pavilion floor, but it's not known how long they have been there.
There were empty bottles at the pavilion, but it's not know how long they have been there.
The council’s first county-wide homelessness strategy was discussed by senior councillors last month.
The blueprint, which is a legal requirement for local authorities, sets out the council’s plans on preventing homelessness and rough sleeping wherever possible and, where it cannot be prevented, to ensure it is rare and does not reoccur.
Should it be approved by the full council, it will focus on four key themes for the authority and its partners to work on: preventing homelessness, increasing availability of suitable accommodation options, increasing the availability and access to support services, and reducing rough sleeping.
Preventing recurring homelessness is key, charity boss says
The Stray Ferret also approached Richard Cooper, chief executive of local homelessness charity Harrogate Homeless Project.
We asked if he feels the fencing at Crescent Gardens is a suitable way to address rough sleeping and homelessness locally, and what more can be done to tackle those issues.
The Stray Ferret also asked Mr Cooper if the charity has seen an increased intake of people at its homeless hostel in recent years.
Mr Cooper said Harrogate Homeless Project’s 40 rooms at its hostel have been “consistently well over 90%” over the last two years.
He added:
The council has many people dedicated to supporting rough sleepers and devotes significant resource to doing so. This includes working with those who periodically sleep rough in Crescent Gardens - and elsewhere - about how they can best be supported into long-term sustainable accommodation.
Homelessness and rough sleeping are the product of a number of issues: poor mental and physical health, drug and alcohol addiction, family breakdown, unemployment and, more often than not, a combination of all of these and more.
We need services available at a convenient time and location where people can access them. It is not realistic to expect someone with chronic mental health problems, little money and crippling addictions to keep an appointment with a stranger in an area they don’t know to address a problem they may not recognise that they have.
The rough sleeping encampment at Crescent Gardens in September 2023.
We also asked Mr Cooper for his thoughts on the council’s draft homelessness strategy.
He told the Stray Ferret:
The emphasis in the strategy on homelessness prevention is welcome particularly making homelessness a ‘once-only’ experience. Too often we see people placed in properties before the issues that made them homeless in the first place have been addressed.
These people often cannot hold down independent accommodation and re-enter the cycle of rough sleeping, addiction and poor maintenance of their health and relationships.
Focusing on how we address preventing recurring homelessness is a key part of the strategy.
The fencing at the Crescent Gardens pavilion looks here to stay, but questions remain over its efficacy and what long-term measures will be used to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping across Harrogate and the wider district.
The Stray Ferret has covered the issue extensively over the years. You can read just some of coverage by clicking here and here.
0