Harrogate man Paul Ivison is once again opening his garden to the public with the aim of raising money for charity and getting a visa for his fiancé.

Paul has lived on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace for more than 15 years. He has changed his garden’s design many times and become something of a local celebrity.

Previous displays have raised money for North Yorkshire Horizons, the Disasters Emergency Committee and many more charitable causes.

This year’s garden will feature a number of themes: mental health, LGBT Pride and the danger of plastic to our oceans.

He said:

“This year’s display… is the biggest I have done in three years”

At the garden’s opening there will be information available on where to get help for those suffering with poor mental health.

As well as this there will be a colourful LGBT section. Gnomes have been painted in the six colours of the pride flag and there will be a number of other rainbow painted  items on display.

On the topic of plastic in our oceans, Paul has installed a fully working bathroom suite which will be filled with plastic waste. Red water will be flowing out of it to symbolise the danger of discarded plastic.

This is all with the aim of raising money for the Samaritans.

He also wants to raise money for his partner, who lives in the Philippines, to get a UK visa and move to Harrogate.

The garden is opening Sunday 25 June at 3pm and Paul has invited neighbours and friends round to enjoy it.

Entrance is free but there will be a box by the gate for any charitable donations. Paul also has a GoFundMe page for his partner’s visa, which you can find here.

Read more:

• Harrogate man gives garden a Ukraine-themed makeover 
• Harrogate man donates money raised from garden display to the Philippines 

A Harrogate man is donating money raised from his garden display to the Philippines.

Paul Ivison, of Mayfield Terrace, decorates his garden with themed displays at different points in the year.

Mr. Ivison, who has lived in the area for 15 years, told the Stray Ferret it takes him about three hours to put together the display.

He said:

“I started doing this three years ago to put smiles on people’s faces and to spread some joy.”

Last year, his garden had 12 trees but this year he has 18 trees in his display.

Mr. Ivison tries to stay sustainable when creating his display, sourcing his Christmas trees from Freecycle and Freegle which are both charity organisations that aim to increase reuse and reduce landfill with a service where people can give away things that would have been thrown away.

Paul Ivison will be reusing the trees through the organisations Freegle and Freecycle

In December 2021, he started fundraising by selling toys to raise money for family homes that were destroyed by typhoon Rai that hit the Philippines last year.

He raised £700 which was used to make repairs.

This year, he will be sending any money raised to a Catholic priest, who will distribute it to those he can help after another typhoon hit the North of the country on November 23.

Read more:

• Harrogate man says ‘outrageous, camp and wild’ garden saved his life
• Harrogate’s ‘Toytropolis’ garden bringing smiles to children’s faces

Mr. Ivison said the people of Harrogate enjoy his garden:

“Lots of positive reaction with people coming up to me and saying it brightens up their mood and their kids always look forward to seeing it.”

Mr. Ivison has more than 200 toys on display and for sale with more being added every day.

The Christmas display will be up until January 9. Donations can be made here.

Harrogate man Paul Ivison has given his landmark garden a Ukraine-themed makeover to raise money for the Disaster Emergency Fund.

Mr Ivison has lived in his house on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace for over 15 years and likes to decorate his garden with different themes.

When the Stray Ferret visited last summer, he had created a loud and proud mental health-themed garden to raise money for Mind.

For winter, he created a ‘Toytropolis’ with toys to make children and their parents smile.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s ‘Toytropolis’ garden bringing smiles to children’s faces
• Harrogate man says ‘outrageous, camp and wild’ garden saved his life

This time he wants to support the humanitarian effort in Ukraine and also pay tribute to Poland for housing two million refugees.

During the 1990s, Mr Ivison was the manager of LGBT magazine, Now UK, and he is also displaying photos he took of celebrities including Graham Norton, Lily Savage and Ian McKellen.

The garden is open to visitors seven days a week and all of the toys are for sale. It’s been sponsored by the sweets supplier Maltese Connections. Some pictures are below:

To donate to his fundraiser visit here.

Harrogate man Paul Ivison has created “Toytropolis” — a garden resplendent with 200 toys, including Scooby-Doo, Batman and Peppa Pig.

Mr Ivison has lived in his house on Mayfield Terrace for 15 years and each year decorates his garden with different themes. When the Stray Ferret visited in the summer, he had created a loud and proud mental health-themed garden, which raised £137 for Mind.

For winter, he’s been bargain hunting on Facebook marketplace to buy toys to make children and their parents smile.

He hopes to raise £500 for North Yorkshire Horizons, a county-wide drug and alcohol addiction service that he has previously worked for. Visitors can leave donations in a box by the gate.

Mr Ivison said:

“Things snowballed and I was buying up toys left right and centre. I got three Bat caves for a tenner.

“It’s my usual problem though — I don’t stop!”

He said the response from children and parents makes him feel good and helps with his own mental health.

“A couple of children saw Peppa Pig and were ecstatic.”

Read more:

• Harrogate man says ‘outrageous, camp and wild’ garden saved his life
• Crime commissioner pledges extra police for Harrogate’s Mayfield Grove

He’s had a problem with thieves visiting the garden. One tried to pinch a toy elephant, but thankfully its feet were attached to the ground with super-strength glue.

Mr Ivision will soon be adding six Christmas trees to the garden and Toytropolis will stay until the second week of January.

He added:

“Someone asked me, what are you going to do to top this? But I’m sure I’ll think of something!”

You can visit Toytropolis on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace.

The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has pledged to push for increased policing in the Mayfield Grove area of Harrogate.

Philip Allott visited the area yesterday to hear concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour on Mayfield Grove and nearby streets, such as Mayfield Terrace and Nydd Vale Terrace.

He was invited by Paul Ivison, who has set up a residents group for people worried about drug dealing, car crime, speeding and anti-social behaviour, particularly in some houses in multiple occupation let by landlords, .

Mr Allott said:

“I will ask the police to step up neighbourhood policing in this area. I will ask them to target the drug dealers and make it hard for the supply chain to operate.”

Read more:

• Mayfield Grove: house at centre of crime concerns allowed to re-open
• Harrogate man says ‘outrageous, camp and wild’ garden saved his life

He also urged Harrogate Borough Council to take a tougher line against landlords that didn’t do enough to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour on their premises.

“The council possibly needs to be a little more active and realise this is a serious issue. I don’t think the district council has quite latched on to that.

“I will be asking Harrogate Borough Council to be more proactive and serve further closure notices against landlords where relevant.”

North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council issued a three-month closure order on 38 Mayfield Grove in March. The two organisations can apply to a court for a closure order if they have concerns about antisocial behaviour and criminal behaviour on premises.

‘Abused by beggars’

Mr Ivison told the commissioner many town centre street beggars stayed in bedsits in the area and said the police should issue more Public Spaces Protection Orders to prevent begging in town, as many of those doing it weren’t genuine rough sleepers, were taking advantage of people and making a mess.

Mr Allott agreed the “town centre was being abused by beggars” who took advantage of “kindly, well disposed people who think they are helping”, adding:

“It’s patently clear a lot of these characters in the town centre are not what they present themselves to be.

“But I do recognise that there are a minority of people who through no fault of their own find themselves in a destitute position.”

Mr Allott said he supported the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders “where it is proportionate and necessary but not as a blanket measure”.