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01

Jan 2023

Last Updated: 01/01/2023
Politics
Politics

Parks in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough to get contactless donation points

by John Plummer

| 01 Jan, 2023
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Harrogate Borough Council looks set to install contactless donation points in parks in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough.

The donation points will be put in Harrogate's Valley Gardens, Knaresborough Castle, Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough and in Ripon Spa Gardens to generate income for the upkeep and development of parks and open spaces.

Councillors are expected to approve spending £18,000 to install them at a meeting on January 10.



A report to councillors said all the locations"feature high quality ornamental gardens and relatively high levels of footfall".

There will be three sites in Valley Gardens — the main entrance, the band stand and the children’s play area. The report said:

"The proposed locations will encourage visitor interaction as each is a prominent footfall area and will be particularly busy during the increased number of events held in the gardens.
"The colourful ‘duck’ for coin donations that is emptied and banked at Claro Road is proposed to be retained."






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The Valley Gardens Development Strategy, published in July last year, proposed creating contactless donation points.

Subsequent consultation with Bournemouth Parks Foundation and the Lake District Foundation suggested an average annual income of £2,000 per donation point.



It added financial modelling indicated the initial capital investment of £18,000 would be repaid within two years with an annual income of around £12,000 achieved thereafter.

A phased roll-out this year, starting with Knaresborough Castle, Ripon Spa Gardens and Valley Gardens by the end of March, are set for approval. The report concludes:

"Supporting the additional contactless donation points will help raise additional funding to maintain and improve parks and open spaces for the enjoyment of residents, visitors and will support the wider local economy."