Queen Victoria will remain on her plinth in Harrogate

The statue of Queen Victoria that has watched over Harrogate since 1887 is set to remain.

Local historian Malcolm Neesam raised concerns the white marble monument could be moved as part of the £7.9 million Station Gateway project.

The project, funded by the government’s Transforming Cities Fund, will radically transform Station Parade, where the statue is located.

A consultation document asks for views on moving the monument, which put the issue on the agenda and prompted Mr Neesam’s concerns.

But at a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee yesterday, councillors put the matter to bed.

Aidan Rayner, Transforming Cities Fund delivery manager at the county council, said the monument was included in initial proposals to get peoples’ views.

However, he added that it will no longer be included in any future consultation and that there was no plans to move it.

He said:

“I can be very clear that it is not required to move it and currently there are no plans to move it as part of these proposals.”

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member of access at the county council, told the committee:

“There is certainly no intention on our part to move the monument. I am very cognisant of Malcolm Neesam’s views on that.”

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Mr Neesam welcomed the news and suggested railings, which were removed from the monument in 1941, should be restored. He said:

“Eighty years after the government encouraged Harrogate to remove the Victoria monument’s decorative railings which marked the site boundary, it really is about time they were restored. Is this too much to ask?”

Richard Ellis inserted several covenants into the deed of gift when he presented the statue to the town, requiring that if any attempt were made to move it, the land should be offered back to the Ellis family.

 

Could Harrogate’s Queen Victoria monument be moved?

Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam has raised concerns the £7.8 million Station Gateway project could lead to the town’s Queen Victoria monument being moved.

The white marble monument on Station Parade was given to the town in 1887 and has looked down on many generations since.

But a consultation on the proposed gateway project, which would radically alter Station Parade, asks people for their views on moving the monument.

The consultation says:

“We have proposed changes to the way the space around the monument is used.

“These changes do not require the monument be moved but we would welcome people’s thoughts on whether this is the best location for the monument.

“We appreciate this monument is very important to the community and any plans to move it would require extensive and meaningful engagement with the public and key stakeholders.”

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Mr Neesam said he understood that in 1887, when Richard Ellis presented the statue, he inserted several covenants into the deed of gift, requiring that if any attempt were made to move the statue, the land should be offered back to the Ellis family.

It is not known whether the Ellis family still has any links with Harrogate but any attempt to move it could be problematic.

Karl Battersby, director of business and environmental services at North Yorkshire County Council, which is one of the councils behind the gateway project, said:

“The proposals put forward for consultation do not require the Queen Victoria monument to be moved.

“It is not our intention to move the monument, nor is it necessary to the scheme.”

Asked whether he was satisfied with the statement, Mr Neesam said:

“I am not re-assured by this statement. If they have no intention of moving the statue, why invite public opinion?”