Two schemes to protect land between Harrogate and Knaresborough from development are to form a partnership.

The Knaresborough Forest Park campaign enabled 61 acres of farmland to be bought last month and turned into a green space and nature reserve.

It followed the Long Lands Common campaign in which 3,000 people bought shares to raise £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.

Land involved in the two projects meets at Bilton Hall Drive and the those involved now plan to work together on developing a wider vision for how it can best be managed for nature and the community.

Shan Oakes, from the Knaresborough Forest Park group, told a Knaresborough & District Chamber meeting last week it made sense for the initiatives to join forces as they had similar aims.

Ms Oakes added that because Long Lands had already been through the share buying process, it could take ownership of the legal process to buy and restore land in the ancient Knaresborough Forest, just outside the town.

George Eglese, who is also part of the Knaresborough Forest project, told the meeting the Long Lands initiative had inspired the “rebirth of Knaresborough Forest” and together the schemes would “create a barrier against development across the greenbelt”.

Celebratory walk

To celebrate the partnership, a walk and picnic will take place on April 29 from Nidd viaduct through Long Lands Common and Knaresborough Forest Park.

The walk will end at The Mitre pub in Knaresborough, where George Moore was born in 1928.

The Mitre

Mr Moore, who died in 2016, was a philanthropist and the George A Moore Foundation set up in his memory donated £410,000 to the Knaresborough Forest Campaign.

Mr Eglese said the community initiatives could, in the future, look at bringing together the greenbelt under a “unifying vision” that could encompass areas such as Nidd Gorge and Horseshoe Fields, all of which either adjoin the land being bought or are close to it.

Update: the walk on April 29 has been postponed until a later date

Read more:

• Knaresborough forest campaign secures 61 acres from development
• Long Lands Common organisers aim to create food forest on Harrogate green belt

Campaigners bidding to buy land in the former Forest of Knaresborough and protect it from development have issued an urgent plea for support.

The community group Renaissance Knaresborough is leading the campaign, which aims to replicate the successful Long Lands Common initiative that raised £375,000 to buy 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.

It wants to acquire privately-owned land not currently accessible to the public between Beryl Burton Cycle Way and Harrogate Road and turn it into Knaresborough Forest Park.

The land would be owned by individual shareholders and open to the public for recreation and conservation.

A map showing the site

A fundraising campaign launched three months ago has so far generated about £510,000. The sum has been boosted by a large donation from the George A Moore Foundation in Leeds. George Moore, a successful businessman who died in 2016, was born and raised in Knaresborough.

Eight plots of land with a total guide price of £910,000 and covering 85 acres are being advertised and a sale of the land is believed to be imminent.

This has prompted the plea to raise more funds in order to bid to buy as many of the plots as possible.

An email sent to supporters by Renaissance Knaresborough says:

“The project will not only safeguard vital greenbelt land from further urban encroachment but will reinstate the initial part of the ancient Knaresborough Forest, with a long-term vision for it to expand.

“Unfortunately time is of the essence, as we have recently been informed that the closing date for the sale could be in a matter of weeks.

An illustrative sketch of the ‘ancient vista’ from the site, by George Eglese

Campaigner Shan Oakes said:

“Renaissance Knaresborough is aiming to buy as much of the land as possible for community forest to connect with Long Lands Common and to deter inappropriate development in this area of natural beauty so close to Knaresborough, Starbeck , Bilton, and Harrogate, but it all depends on what funds we can raise in the time we have available .

“Some of the land is in Starbeck so we are confident that Starbeck residents and businesses will be very keen to support this effort.

“Pledges are coming in thick and fast, so our hopes are high,  but the time available to raise the money is possibly very short…we don’t actually know although we are told it could be only a week or so before the sale is concluded.”

Anyone wishing to support the campaign can do so here.

A memorial bench and statue for Knaresborough businessman and philanthropist George A Moore has been approved.

The statue, which has been planned by the George A Moore Foundation, will be placed in High Bridge Gardens in the town.

Harrogate Borough Council has given the go-ahead to the proposal, which the foundation says will help to commemorate the life and achievements of Mr Moore.

As part of the plan, a life-size bronze sculpture of Mr Moore will sit on the right hand side of the bench.

An umbrella, coat and newspaper will be permanently secured to the cast iron and stainless steel bench along with the sculpture.

In documents submitted to the council, the foundation said:

“The proposed memorial bench will make a positive contribution to and enhance the gardens, while creating historic interest by celebrating a local philanthropist.”

George A Moore

Born in 1928 at the Mitre public house in Knaresborough, George Moore left his local secondary modern to put his carpentry skills to the good use.

He formed his first business at Cottingley near Bingley, which later expanded into manufacturing high quality kitchen furniture and prepared joinery for local authority housing.

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His business Moore’s Furniture Group employed hundreds of people at Thorp Arch Trading Estate near Wetherby.

In 1970, Mr Moore formed his foundation which started off as a welfare fund for his staff. But it was later enhanced after he sold his business and went onto to become a respected grant making foundation.

Mr Moore was awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace in 1988 for his business career and was later awarded Knight of St John status in 1995.

He died at his home on the Isle of Man on September 16, 2016, aged 88.