The Stray Defence Association has urged people using the Stray to respect the new six person limit on gatherings.
During the summer crowds gathered on the Stray, breaking social distancing rules.
The association hopes there will be no repeat of this from Monday when groups of more than six people will be forbidden from gathering, except in exceptional circumstances.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday this would “stop the spread of the virus and save lives”.
Crowds of young people gathered on the Stray over summer. From Monday, groups must be limited to six people.Young people have been widely blamed for the recent increase in covid infections.
Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the association, said the majority of young people had stuck to the rules extremely well and she hoped everyone continued to enjoy the wide spaces of the Stray while respecting the new law.
She said:
“It’s given people the space to socially distance and I think it has really come into its own. It is an asset for the town and there’s enough space for everyone to enjoy it.”
But she added:
“We had three weeks of people up at Tewit Well breaking the social distancing laws and the police had to be involved.
“No-one wants to stop young people enjoying themselves but the rules are there for everyone. Let’s hope this time it is different, I am not being anti-young and don’t want to stop them having a good time but they can’t be breaking the restrictions again. It is an asset for the town and there’s enough space for everyone to enjoy it.”
Read more:
- Crowds gathered on the Stray to enjoy the summer weather but left a mess for volunteers to clear up.
- WATCH to see how the West Park Stray looks now after months of landscaping work.
Until now, the police have not been able to disperse gatherings unless they exceeded 30 people.
North Yorkshire Police declined to comment when asked by the Stray whether it would be monitoring gatherings on the Stray from Monday.
John Apter, the national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said:
“For policing, these constant changes to legislation are becoming the norm. The pressures on policing have increased significantly over recent months and this latest change will add to this pressure. The government needs to play its part – an effective public information campaign must be a priority. We would urge the public to do the right thing and comply with the new rules.”
West Park Stray appears lush and green after the grass was mowed for the first time since work began in spring.
However, anyone hoping to take advantage of the warm weather this weekend and enjoy the newly-mown grass will have to look elsewhere.
Harrogate Borough Council said an announcement about the reopening of West Park Stray will be made in the coming days, but for now, it remains fenced off.
A drone image of West Park Stray taken today, July 31, by David Simister.
Work to restore the Stray began at the end of April, with Lancashire-based Glendale Services appointed to carry out the work under ‘urgent circumstances’. The organisers of the fan park for the UCI Road World Championships last September, when the damage was done, have agreed to pay £35,500 towards £130,000 of work.
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The council said that sum was not purely for repairs following the UCI event, but comprised repair to other long-standing issues:
- £38,105 for repairs to grassed areas of West Park Stray
- £65,385 for pavement, footpaths, Heras fencing, bedding and verge repairs, reinstatement of bins and benches plus any additional council work
- £20,156 to fix longstanding drainage issues
- £6,325 project management and delivery costs
When seeding began in late June, scarecrows created by local primary school children were put up across the Stray to protect the grass.
The Stray was still showing extensive damage in March
A hotel worker from The Crown Hotel in Harrogate has been spending his mornings cleaning up the Stray after it turned into ‘an absolute eyesore’ over the last three days.
Andrew Langley has been furloughed from working at the hotel and decided to do his bit for the district:
” I have been out all week picking up beer cans, pizza boxes and all whatever else. It’s something I feel I have to do. It had been ok up until now but the past three days it’s been packed with people and its been left in such a state, there should be a fine or something.”
Police appeal for information after man exposes himself on the Stray
Police are appealing for information after a man exposed himself on the Stray in Harrogate at the weekend.
It happened near Slingsby Walk, which runs between Oatlands Drive and Wetherby Road, near the ginnel through to St Winifred’s Avenue, on Sunday afternoon between 5.30pm and 6.30pm.
A man has been arrested and police are continuing to make enquiries. A spokesman said:
“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident. In particular, we are appealing for information from any person who witnessed anybody behaving inappropriately in that area around the time of the reported incident.”
Police have also warned the public to be careful about sharing material and speculating about the incident while the investigation continues, after people posted about the incident on social media on Sunday evening.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two, and ask for Jon Everitt. Alternatively, email jonathan.everitt@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
To report information anonymously, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12200104912.
Why bring in contractors from Lancashire for the Stray restoration?Two Harrogate-based contractors have questioned why the council is bringing in contractors from Lancashire to restore the Stray.
Harrogate Borough Council this week outlined details of its £130,000 plan to be carried out by Glendale Services, from Chorley.
Representatives from HACS Construction Group and Ray Skelton, firms with significant experience in groundworks and landscaping, wanted the council to look closer to home at a time when many are struggling financially.
Mark Smith, from HACS, told the Stray Ferret that he is “absolutely disgusted” that the council did not ask local firms to tender for the work.
“They are bringing in workers from Chorley in Lancashire and not supporting local firms. 70% of my staff are furloughed and I have all the equipment to do the work. It’s a disgrace. Local firms should have had the opportunity to price for the main work – the only thing I was asked to price for was the corner work”
They feel that part of the problem with the UCI Championships last year was because the organisers did not understand that the Stray is more than a patch of grass to the residents of Harrogate. Stuart Skelton also said that the council did not ask his firm to tender for the work.
“How do they know if it’s best value? Why get a company outside Harrogate? A local firm understands how important the Stray is to the town.”
The Stray Ferret took these concerns to Harrogate Borough Council. The council responded by saying it welcomes any local businesses that wish to join its database and sent us information about how to register as a supplier.
Both companies pointed out that they have been doing work for the council for decades.
Will the year-long restoration be enough?
HACS Construction and the Stray Defence Association have also questioned whether the restoration, which is estimated to be complete a year after the UCI, will be a long term solution.
Mr Smith told the Stray Ferret that, before any re-seeding, the main area of West Park Stray that was damaged needs to be properly drained.
He has also warned that what’s being done is “cosmetic” and any big event held thereafter next year could see a repeat of the problem. He outlined what he felt needs to be done:
- £150,000 to drain the main area of the Stray that is damaged
- £60,000 to replace the topsoil
- £10,000 to reseed
- £8,000 for aeration
- £34,000 a year to dress the area in round particle sports sand
The Stray Defence Association has made a statement in which it questions whether the work will be enough:
UCI Championship organisers to pay £35,500 towards Stray repair costs“After seven months without use of West Park Stray, eight if you include the usage by the UCI, we are pleased that at long last something appears to be happening after many weeks of spring weather when, surely, work could have begun. Whether what is planned will be both proficient and sufficient remains to be seen. We were told initially that the ‘drainage issues’ were going to be resolved prior to any restoration. Has this in fact been done or will the Stray be dug up again for future work?
“Also, other experts have given details of much more complex renovations which they believe should be undertaken. Will our Stray actually be properly restored? This was a clearly stipulated condition, asked for by the SDA and granted, when the government agreed to the Stray being used for this event last year. Whatever the case Harrogate’s people, to whom the Stray belongs, must be told the truth.”
Yorkshire 2019, the organisers of the UCI Road World Championships, has agreed to pay £35,500 to help restore the Stray, with the council leader promising that it will be back “better than ever” in September.
Harrogate Borough Council has appointed contractor Glendale Services to start this week. They will start by breaking up and aerating the affected soil as well as treating the grass with a spray that will turn it blue temporarily.
The council said grass will be left for two weeks for the treatment to take effect before the contractors return to undertake rolling, sub-soiling, and further harrowing in preparation for seeding over a week. Seeding will take place at the end of May.
To avoid further disruption, workers will fence off badly affected areas, including the footpaths.
They will also fix uneven flagstones and address the historical drainage issues at the corner of West Park and Otley Road.
Overall, the council believes that the works will cost £129,971, broken down into:
- £38,105 for repairs to grassed areas of West Park Stray
- £65,385 for pavement, footpaths, Heras fencing, bedding and verge repairs, reinstatement of bins and benches plus any additional council work
- £20,156 to fix longstanding drainage issues
- £6,325 project management and delivery costs
That figure is based on estimates provided by the contractors with the council saying the costs for footpaths is covered by the “existing programmes of works that were held off until after the event.”
Harrogate Borough Council released these details a day after an exclusive report from the Stray Ferret which revealed that the council has set aside £150,000 for Stray repair work this year on top of the £51,000 already spent
Councillor Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said:
“It is great to see work start on West Park Stray this week. We hope, by the autumn, it will be returned to its former glory before it was affected by one of the wettest autumns since the 1970s. We have decided to use opportunity to address the historic drainage issues at the corner of Otley Road and West Park. This has been an issue and frustration to local residents for a number of years and I’m pleased to announce this is also being addressed.”