Villagers in Staveley demonstrated last weekend against a planned scheme for 73 homes near a nature reserve.
Thomas Alexander Homes, which is based in Leeds, has tabled the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council for land off Minskip Road near to Staveley Nature Reserve.
The plan would see a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses built in the village, which is between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge. The developer has also earmarked 40% of the homes as affordable.
However, residents armed with placards took to the village green on Saturday to protest against the plan which they say would be “utter madness”.
Graham Bowland, from Staveley Residents Action Group, said residents had also written to the council to object to the scheme.
He said:
“As of today there are 130 resident objection letters with Harrogate Borough Council – either processed or being processed.
“We bombarded them with actual letters given the lack of opportunity to use the planning portal over the past couple of weeks.”
The portal, which allows people to comment on planning applications, was down for over a week until last week.
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Residents previously raised objections at a village hall meeting this month.
The developer said in its plans the site represented a “logical extension” to the village.
It said:
Dog owners urged to keep dogs on leads after sheep attacks“The proposal forms a logical extension to Staveley, the local authority concurred with this assessment by allocating the site for residential development to the scale of approximately 72 dwellings.”
Dog owners in the Harrogate district are being urged to keep their pets on leads by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust following two attacks on sheep at nature reserves last week.
The trust looks after more than 100 nature reserves across Yorkshire, including sites in Burton Leonard, Staveley, Bishop Monkton, Ripon and Upper Dunsforth, near Boroughbridge.
At a reserve in Huddersfield, an attack from a dog left one of the trust’s Hebridean grazing sheep with deep bite wounds.
Meanwhile, at Kilnsea Wetlands in East Yorkshire, pregnant ewes were chased by dogs, angering the local grazier.
As well as posing risks to livestock, dogs have also been trampling rare plants and bird nests.
The majority of ground-nesting birds are in decline in the UK, including curlews, woodcocks and skylarks. If dogs scare birds away from their nests, they leave chicks at risk.
A Skylark, one of the vulnerable ground-nesting birds.
Increasing instances of dogs disturbing wildlife has led the charity to issue the plea for owners to keep dogs on leads.
Rachael Bice, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s chief executive said:;
“Dog walking is one of the best reasons to get outdoors, feel great and enjoy our beautiful countryside – and we thank every responsible dog owner who keeps their dog on a lead and encourages others to do the same.
“Wildlife is suffering huge declines and dogs in wild places can cause problems, especially when many species are breeding and resting close to the ground.”
Jenna Kiddie, head of canine behaviour at the charity Dogs Trust, added:
“Dogs [should be] kept on a short lead, and close to their owners, whenever livestock are nearby, within seeing, hearing or smelling distance or whenever their presence is likely to be expected.
“It is important to remember that chasing is normal dog behaviour, and that any dog is capable of chasing, irrelevant of breed, type, age or size.”
You can find more info about being a nature-friendly pet owner here.
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Body of man in his 20s found in Harrogate nature reserve
The body of a man in his 20s has been found at Hookstone Wood in Harrogate.
A dog walker is believed to have made the discovery in the nature reserve between the Great Yorkshire Showground and Hornbeam Park yesterday morning.
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:
“North Yorkshire Police were called at around 8am on February 20 after a member of the public found the body of a man in woodland on the outskirts of Harrogate.
“The ambulance service also attended and provided assistance, but sadly the man, who is aged in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Officers do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
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Long Lands Common organisers aim to create food forest on Harrogate green belt
The team behind Long Lands Common is set to unveil plans to create a food forest on Harrogate’s green belt.
Long Lands Common is Harrogate and Knaresborough’s first community owned woodland and nature reserve.
It was established after around 3,000 people bought shares in Long Lands Common Ltd and raised almost £400,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway at the end of 2020.
Now organisers want to spend the small amount of surplus money they raised to buy an extra four acres of Harrogate green belt and plant a forest that would be a source of local food.
The company, which is a community benefits society, is to hold its AGM on Saturday, June 25, when the proposal will be put to shareholders for approval.
Secretary of Long Lands Common Ltd, Chris Kitson, told the Stray Ferret :
“The aim is to expand Long Lands Common, bring more green belt into local ownership and produce food for the local community.
We need a more sustainable world and a more localised, resilient economy.
Never in my life have I seen so much insecurity. We need to return to a more sustainable way of producing local food for local people.”
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What is a food forest?
Kate Wilkinson is a horticulturalist who specialises in permaculture design and is advising the Long Lands Common team.
She says at one point the ancient forest of Knaresborough would have been a food forest — local people would have had the right to forage for naturally grown food such as mushrooms and blackberries.
She said the concept is the same when you create a modern food forest:
” A food forest is based on observing natural ecosystems. Trees are planted with scrubs underneath that copy natural systems . The plants are perennials and stay there for years enabling invertebrates, animals and birds to thrive.
“It’s aim is to be a social project too – the forest is accessible to everyone. People can forage with permission and feel that they belong there. The forest is owned by the people”.
The Annual General Meeting will start at 11am at Long Lands Common where the committee is also organising a picnic day.
Long Lands Common ponds ready for habitationThree ponds have been built and filled at Long Lands Common with the hopes of encouraging newt habitation.
The ponds began construction in late January after planning permission was granted for the project.
It is unclear how long it will take before the ponds become inhabited by Great Crested Newts as migration will occur naturally over time.
The project was completed in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust and Natural England which helped to fund it.
It is part of a larger scheme which began in 2020 when a group of stakeholders bought the land to create Harrogate’s first common wildlife area between Bogs Lane and Bilton Lane and prevent development.
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The common was opened to the public in summer 2021.
Long Lands Common secretary Chris Kitson said:
“The pond building was the first step to transform the area from a farm to a nature reserve, we’ve got a lot lined up to make the area more biodiverse.”
The group has also just finalised their woodland creation plan which involves the planting of trees and a variety of plants. They hope to begin a large scale scheme of planting in Autumn of this year.
In 2020, around 3,000 people bought shares in the land. The appeal raised £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near the Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.
An official open day was held on the land for people who pledged money in July.