Will the real Harrogate Residents Association please stand up?

Two rival Facebook groups with starkly contrasting opinions on cycling are locked in a dispute over the use of the name Harrogate Residents Association.

The original Harrogate Residents Association is a private Facebook group with 326 members and a website.

It was set up in February by Anna McIntee and Lucy Gardiner, who feel there has been a lack of consultation about the recent spate of transport schemes promoting cycling and walking, such as changes to Oatlands Drive and the £7.9 million Station Gateway project.

They are sceptical about the merits of the schemes and fear they could damage the town.

Last week a new Harrogate Residents Association group was formed by Mark Smith.

Its members are more favourable towards the pro-walking and cycling schemes, which also include the closure of Beech Grove to through traffic and the pedestrianisation of James Street.

The “clone” group

Lucy Gardiner

The duo behind the original page told the Stray Ferret the new “clone” group was an “obvious attempt” to discredit their opinions, and should be shut down by Facebook.

Ms McIntee said posts in her group questioning the merits of walking and cycling proposals had attracted “relentless” comments from pro-cycling accounts demanding that it “provides the facts”.

Ms Gardiner was even accused of being Tara Gunne, the now infamous ‘fake’ profile that used the image of Liverpool adult entertainer Hazel May to discredit the Station Gateway proposals.

Ms Mcintee said those behind the new group wanted to “confuse and undermine” the original group.

She added:

“It’s terrible. It’s frightening. It’s not fair for the people of Harrogate to be put through this.”

She also accused the pro-cycling voices in Harrogate of being aggressive and confrontational.

Ms Gardiner added:

“We’re the real Harrogate Residents Association.”

Read more:

Bagsied the name

Mark Smith

Mr Smith told the Stray Ferret he set up the new page because he was unhappy the original Harrogate Residents Association Facebook group had been set to private, with new members having to be approved before joining.

He said the group’s selective nature made it an untrue representation of the residents of Harrogate.

His group has flourished and has now overtaken the original group with 371 members. Discussion topics include which streets in Harrogate could become one-way and cycling in the snow.

Mr Smith said he wouldn’t be changing the name of the group:

“Just because they bagsied the name first? It doesn’t mean anything in the real world.”

He said he did not set up the new group to confuse people and wasn’t aware of any aggressive comments made by members. He said “polite discussion is the difference between the two groups”.

Mr Smith added:

“If people are bedded to ideas progress won’t happen.”

Entrenched views

Whilst the feud over the name Harrogate Residents Association may appear trivial, it has highlighted the entrenched views and polarising opinions that North Yorkshire County Council’s various active travel schemes have generated in Harrogate.

Both sides agreed it was important to listen to each other opinions — although sometimes it seems this is proving easier said than done.

Fake account uses porn star’s image to attack Harrogate cycling plans

A fake Facebook profile has been using the image of a porn star from Liverpool to whip up anti-cycling sentiment in Harrogate.

Harrogate resident James Smith, who is pro-cycling, told the Stray Ferret he and his friends recently became suspicious of a group of six Facebook accounts which they believed not to be genuine.

Mr Smith said for several weeks the accounts have been posting fervently anti-cycling opinions on any posts related to the pedestrianisation of James Street and the Station Gateway.

One account in particular, Tara Gunne, was the most prolific. A letter attributed to her was published in last week’s Harrogate Advertiser, with the supposed Ms Gunne passionately stating “this destruction of our characterful town has to stop.”

Mr Smith said:

“Tara Gunne was very aggressive and was dissing the Station Gateway as ludicrous.”

Their suspicions were confirmed when a friend of Mr Smith used his tech skills to investigate Tara Gunne. He discovered the account was using an image of Liverpool-based adult entertainment star Hazel May.

Read more:

Mr Smith said they confronted the accounts over the weekend asking them “why are they so excited about Harrogate”?. He believes all six accounts could be related to Tara Gunne.

All mysteriously disappeared from Facebook by Sunday morning and appeared to have been deleted.

Mr Smith isn’t sure who is behind the account but suspects it could be people from outside of Harrogate looking to sway public opinion against active travel schemes.

“We’re not detectives. Maybe they are doing the same in London or Wales. But why? Are they getting paid and is it just one person?”

“It’s become so polarised and these people don’t seem to be helping.”