Harrogate Civic Society has objected to plans to designate the Stray as common land.
The Open Spaces Society applied to register Harrogate’s 200-acre expanse as common land, a move which has been met with opposition by some in the town.
Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, and the Stray Defence Association have already objected to the proposal.
Now, the town’s civic society has become the latest to declare its opposition to the plan.
In a letter to North Yorkshire Council, Henry Pankhurst, of the Harrogate Civic Society, said registering the Stray as common land would lead to “confusion” as it is already covered by the Harrogate Stray Act 1985.
He said:
“If Stray land were to appear on the Commons Registration Act map then it would show up on local search results for property purchasers etc.
“This does not however outweigh the potential for confusion if both the Stray Act and the Commons Registration Act apply to the same land.”
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Mr Pankhurst added that the public had been consulted on changes to the Stray Act in 2016/17 and “made it clear that the act should not be changed”.
The move comes after the Open Spaces Society tabled a bid to register the Stray as common land back in January.
Founded in 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society, the OSS is Britain’s oldest national conservation body. Its past victories include the preservation of Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon Common and Epping Forest.
When the Commons Registration Act 1965 came into force, the Stray was exempted from inclusion in the common land register, but following the passing of the Commons Act 2006, the OSS has been trying to register such exempted land and wants to bring the Stray “back into the fold”.
When the application was made earlier this year, OSS case officer Hugh Craddock said:
MP and campaigners oppose registering Stray as common land“The decision in the 1960s to keep the Stray off the registers was understandable but misguided.
“Only a quarter of one per cent of registered common land was exempted from registration, and exemption proved to be both misleading and unhelpful. The Stray has always been common land, and ought to be registered as common land.”
The debate over the Stray’s official designation has been rekindled following an intervention by Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
He became involved in the controversy after the Open Spaces Society applied to register Harrogate’s 200-acre expanse as common land, a move which has been met with opposition by some in the town.
Mr Jones wrote to the general secretary of the OSS seeking more information about the application. He said:
“After reading it carefully it was still difficult to see why the Open Spaces Society had made this application. I was unclear what it would achieve and why this designation was needed when we already have law – the Stray Act – giving the area protection.
“The Stray Act has served us well. It limits large-scale use of the land; changes can only be made after Parliamentary scrutiny, and where the Stray is damaged it has to be restored by law.”
Founded in 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society, the OSS is Britain’s oldest national conservation body. Its past victories include the preservation of Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon Common and Epping Forest.
When the Commons Registration Act 1965 came into force, the Stray was exempted from inclusion in the common land register, but following the passing of the Commons Act 2006, the OSS has been trying to register such exempted land and wants to bring the Stray “back into the fold”.
When the application was made in January 2023, OSS case officer Hugh Craddock said:
“The decision in the 1960s to keep the Stray off the registers was understandable but misguided. Only a quarter of one per cent of registered common land was exempted from registration, and exemption proved to be both misleading and unhelpful. The Stray has always been common land, and ought to be registered as common land.”
Frances Kerner, the OSS’ commons re-registration officer who made the application, added:
“Registration can only reinforce the protection already afforded to the Stray under the Harrogate Stray Act 1985. The land will also become protected under the Commons Act 2006. And registration will ensure that those who buy and sell land adjacent to the common are always notified of its protected status.”
‘Unnecessary and alarming’
But Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association (SDA), said the application was unnecessary as the Stray already enjoyed three layers of protection: it is Crown land; it was granted in 1778 to the people of Harrogate “forever hereafter” under the Enclosures Act of 1770; and it is safeguarded by the Harrogate Stray Act 1985.
Writing to the commons registration officer at North Yorkshire Council, she said:
“The SDA has been contacted by many who are worried and would like to know what is going to happen. All are bewildered as they have always felt certain that their beloved Stray was already fully protected and they are alarmed in equal measure as to what might happen should the OSS application be approved.”
A drone image of West Park Stray. Picture: David Simister
Ms d’Arcy Thompson also pointed to the fact that some parts of the Stray are not connected with the main 200-acre expanse, such as land in the Woodlands area and the grass verges, or “slips”, along Wetherby Road, Skipton Road and Knaresborough Road. She said if the Stray was designated common land, some people could theoretically be barred from crossing those verges, effectively denying them access to their own property.
She also feared that the OSS may be working from the wrong maps – a concern first raised by the late Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam.
She said:
“This kind of designation has happened elsewhere and has caused such legal machinations that in some cases it has ended up in the High Court and cost a lot of money. We don’t want that to happen here.
“It might not turn out like that here, but knowing how careful people have to be with maps and boundaries, the OSS only need to get one small thing wrong to cause a lot of trouble. This may prove to be a legal minefield in the making.”
‘It would strengthen protection’
In its reply to Mr Jones, the OSS said that, using a mechanism provided by Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006, its policy is now to apply to register as common land all exempted land in North Yorkshire, including the Stray. It said:
“Registration will ensure that the exempted land properly is recognised as registered common land and will be reported as such on a search conducted in relation to a purchase of land or house adjacent to the common (where for example access is required over the common).
“It will also ensure that the land definitively is brought within the protection of Part 3 of the 2006 Act, which provides for controls on works on common land, with a régime for the Secretary of State to consent to such works.”
It added:
“The controls in Part 3 of the 2006 Act will be in addition to those set out in the Harrogate Stray Act 1985. Far from weakening the 1985 Act regime, registration will strengthen the protection for the Stray.”
But Mr Jones said:
“In the response from the Open Spaces Society I could still see no positive reason to progress this application. They may think that the exemption in 1965 was misguided and they may have some blanket policy they are implementing from their Henley-on-Thames HQ. But the important thing is to ensure the Stray is protected rather than ticking some policy box.
“The Stray Act is very powerful protection. That will not change, so the question remains about the purpose of this new common land application. I simply haven’t yet been given any meaningful reasons by the Open Spaces Society to support their proposal.”
Ms d’Arcy Thompson also remains unswayed. She said:
“We’re not being petty – we’re just foreseeing potential problems. Why open the Pandora’s box to possible litigation here, there and everywhere?
“It’s all ifs and buts and maybes, but we don’t want to see something happen that could cause stress and expense when the status quo works very well.”
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Bid to protect Harrogate’s Stray with common land status
A campaign group has submitted an application to have the Stray in Harrogate registered as common land.
The Open Spaces Society (OSS) said registration could bring more protection for the Stray, requiring additional permission to hold events outside the existing restrictions.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, OSS case officer Hugh Craddock said it would make it more difficult to hold events that did not comply with the 1985 Stray Act, such as the 2019 UCI Road World Championships, which saw heavy rain and large crowds leave West Park Stray in need of extensive repairs.
He said:
“Our view is that, once registered, the protections afforded to common land generally would apply to the Stray as well.
“There would be an additional layer of consent which would have to be obtained for such events. That’s not to say it would be impossible, but there would be another layer of protection.”
The Stray Act 1985 appointed Harrogate Borough Council to guard it and residents’ freedom to use it. When the new North Yorkshire Council comes into effect in April, it will take on that responsibility.
Among the restrictions under the act are a limit on the amount of space that can be used for events, and their duration. No more than 8.5 acres can be used for a maximum of 35 days per year.
A consultation was held in 2016 to extend the amount of time the Stray could be used for events, but the council said there was not public support for the proposal.
The OSS said it is trying to reverse a decision made in November 1966 to exclude the Stray from registration under the Commons Registration Act 1965. It has applied to North Yorkshire County Council to register the 200-acre parkland as common land.
Mr Craddock said:
“The decision in the 1960s to keep the Stray off the registers was understandable but misguided.
“Only a quarter of one per cent of registered common land was exempted from registration, and exemption proved to be both misleading and unhelpful.
“The Stray has always been common land, and ought to be registered as common land.”
Once the application has been validated by the county council, Mr Craddock said the process of determining whether to register the Stray as common land is likely to take between six and 18 months.
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The OSS said the move would help to resolve some “inconsistencies” in the area of the Stray defined by different acts of Parliament in 1770, 1893 and 1985.
Mr Craddock referred to a small patch of grass adjacent to Harrogate District Hospital which used to be part of the gardens belonging to a house on the site of the hospital. Although it appeared to be part of the Stray, it was not officially Stray land.
In 2020, that land was identified as part of a ‘land exchange’ for a piece of verge alongside Otley Road which was part of the Stray. The Stray land was set to be adjusted as part of the cycle route being created by North Yorkshire County Council which required loss of the verge.
The OSS said officially recognising the Stray as common land could only further ensure its protection.
Commons registration officer Frances Kerner, who made the application on behalf of the society, added:
“Registration can only reinforce the protection already afforded to the Stray under the Harrogate Stray Act 1985. The land will also become protected under the Commons Act 2006.
“And registration will ensure that those who buy and sell land adjacent to the common are always notified of its protected status.
“We look forward to the council advertising the application in due course.”