A security firm has teamed up with a Harrogate environmental business to reduce its carbon footprint by planting 131 trees.
Dardan Security joined forces with Make it Wild to plant the trees to offset its annual carbon emissions.
The company said the trees planted will offset 480 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year.
Make it Wild planted the trees at Dowgill Grange in Summerbridge on the company’s behalf. Co-founder Christopher Neave said;
“Where there are unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions, caused by their business activities, our trees will be removing an equivalent quantity and more from the atmosphere as they grow.”
“We will never cut them down and they are destined to become the trees of the future.”
Make it Wild was founded by Harrogate couple Christopher and Helen Neave eleven years ago. They aim to plant over 100,000 trees in the district by 2030.
Their site in Kirk Hammerton is now open to the public as Sylvan Nature Reserve.
Dardan Security has also pledged that any new additions to their transport fleet will be electric or hybrid. Transport fuel emissions currently equate to nearly 90% of the firm’s total carbon output.
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Harrogate council asking residents to donate saplings to plant around district
Harrogate Borough Council is asking residents to donate oak or sycamore saplings that might be in their gardens.
Once the trees are big enough, the council will plant them across the Harrogate district to enhance woodland areas.
It has asked residents to bring the saplings to the council’s nursery on Harlow Hill between 10am and 3pm from Monday to Friday.
The council tweeted:
“We need your help! If you have any oak or sycamore trees in your garden, we’d love it if you could dig up any saplings you might have, making sure they have a good root system and are placed in in a plant pot or wet newspaper.”
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HBC is involved in the White Rose Forest, which is one of 10 community forests being created in England. It will span North and West Yorkshire.
The forest will consist of pockets of woodland rather than huge expanses and is part of the government’s commitment to increase UK tree planting to 30,000 hectares a year by 2025.
An HBC report in September 2020 identified 17.2 acres of council-owned land that could potentially be used to plant trees for the White Rose Forest.
Pannal man accuses council of acting ‘unreasonably’ over leaning willowsA Pannal resident is in a battle with Harrogate Borough Council over two willow trees that he believes hang precariously over his house.
Professor Alejandro Frangi, who is an internationally renowned expert on computational medicine, lives by Crimple Beck in the Harrogate suburb with his wife and eight children.
On the other side of the water are several trees, including the two willows that he believes could fall in strong winds and threaten the safety of his young family.
In 2020 he applied to the council to prune and manage the trees. The council agreed to manage some of them, but it refused to touch the willows, saying that work would damage their health.
Instead it placed a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on them, making it a criminal offence to make any changes.
Prof Frangi has accused the council of “acting unreasonably” over the trees and submitted a formal complaint to the council about the way the saga has been handled.
The council rejected his complaint and said it was satisfied with how it made the decision.
Prof Frangi told the Stray Ferret:
“These trees risk falling on to my side of the river, straight on my property, posing a risk to my family and property. The council has been acting unreasonably, dismissing the risks and putting TPOs on the trees instead of protecting us.”
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To help his case, Prof Frangi commissioned arboricultural consultant James Royston to inspect the hazards posed by the trees, and he agreed that one of them could be dangerous.
The report said:
“It is overhanging a house and garden, and it thereby presents a reasonably foreseeable risk of danger to the occupants and visitors of that house and garden.”
However, it doesn’t appear that Harrogate Borough Council will change its position.
Prof Frangi has now lodged an appeal with the government’s Planning Inspectorate about the council’s refusal and hopes it will force them to change their stance.
A HBC council spokesperson said:
“Proposals that result in the thinning, loss of or damage to mature trees that are subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) are not permitted unless there is an overriding need that outweighs loss or harm.
“The trees are mature specimens with no visible health defects, and thinning would have a detrimental impact on their health and the visual amenity of the surrounding area, contrary to the guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework and Policy NE7 of the Harrogate Local Plan.”
“Professor Frangi has submitted appeals against the council’s decisions to refuse consent and the matter is now with the Planning Inspectorate whose decisions are currently awaited.”
Nidderdale eco-business plants 50,000th tree
The eco-business Make It Wild planted its 50,000th tree in the Harrogate district earlier today.
The tree was planted by volunteers at its Dowgill Grange site in Summerbridge, which means the company is now halfway to its goal of planting 100,000 trees in the district by 2030.
Helen and Christopher Neave, who own Make It Wild, estimate their team has planted over 11,000 in the current planting season alone, which began in November and ends soon.
The trees will contribute to the Northern Forest, a government initiative to plant 50 million trees from Liverpool to Hull.
A wide variety of native species have been planted including oak, silver birch, wild cherry, rowan and willow.
Helen said the trees are great for biodiversity and will attract a wide variety of insects and birds.
Helen said as well as capturing carbon dioxide from the amtosphere, the trees will have other benefits including drawing up water from the River Nidd to help alleviate flooding.
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Make It Wild started 10 years ago when the couple bought a 26-acre plot of land near Kirk Hammerton.
More sites have been bought in Nidderdale including 111 acres at Bank Woods and a 44-acre neighbouring site known as Dowgill Grange.
Helen told the Stray Ferret they were inspired after planting 20,000 trees on the land at Kirk Hammerton. She said after waiting five years for the trees to grow, the amount of wildlife that came was “absolutely incredible”.
To fund the tree planting, Make It Wild sells tree dedications for weddings or birthdays, carbon offsetting for businesses and eco-friendly products including animal habitat boxes.
Vandals thought to have damaged memorial tree on the StrayAn upset Harrogate family discovered this morning its memorial tree on the Stray had been damaged.
Sharon Canavar posted pictures of the tree on Twitter this morning and described her sadness at the incident.
Ms Canavar suspects the tree, planted along Slingsby Walk, was vandalised overnight. The top two-thirds were snapped off and left on the floor.
The tree is one of 50 planted in 2016 to mark Harrogate International Festival’s 50th anniversary. Residents were offered the chance to buy a tree, with many doing so in memory of loved ones.
Ms Canavar, who is chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, bought a tree for her family. She said:
“I found it this morning on our walk. My kids were more upset. People say it happens a lot and there has been a spate of it happening in the past. It seems they’ve got mine this time.”
She hopes to be able to replace the tree eventually.
This is far from the first tree on the Stray that has been damaged recently.
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In October, local police officer, Sgt Paul Cording tweeted about a number of trees “destroyed and killed” on York Place Stray.
In June, there were reports of vandalism affecting young trees. It occurred when local police officers were attempting to crack down on large groups congregating on the Stray.
Thousands of new trees could be planted in HarrogateThousands of new trees could be planted in the Harrogate district after the government earmarked £3.7m for the new White Rose Forest.
The White Rose Forest is one of 10 community forests being created in England. It will span north and west Yorkshire.
The funding will enable 218 hectares of trees to be planted — but specific details on how much of the new tree coverage will fall within our district are yet to be announced.
The White Rose Forest will consist of pockets of woodland rather than huge expanses and is part of the government’s commitment to increase UK tree planting to 30,000 hectares a year by 2025.
A Harrogate Borough Council report in September identified 17.2 acres of council-owned land that could potentially be used to plant trees for the White Rose Forest.
It consisted of 14 hectares of land on either side of the Bilton to Ripley cycleway and 3.2 hectares of land next to Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough.
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Couple’s mission to plant 100,000 trees in Harrogate district
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Dreams become reality as district’s first community woodland is secured
The average woodland cover in Europe is about 36%. In the UK the average is 12%. In the Harrogate district and the Yorkshire Dales the figure is 8%.
Landowners within the White Rose Forest area have been invited to apply for grants, incentives and support to create woodlands on their land.
The first White Rose Forest trees were planted in the Harrogate district last year in Nidderdale by the Rotary Club of Harrogate, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Ashville College.
Harrogate Bus Company to plant more treesHarrogate Bus Company is to plant more trees in Harrogate as part of its commitment to cutting carbon emissions.
The company introduced fume-free buses in 2018 after it won £2.25 million of government funding.
Last year it pledged to plant one tree for every 10,000 miles covered by its fleet of eight electric buses.
To celebrate Clean Air Day tomorrow, the company has announced its buses have together covered over 400,000 miles.
It has already planted an oak tree on West Park and has now revealed another 39 trees will be planted in three areas served by the buses – Nidd Gorge, close to Bilton, Jennyfield and in the pine woods near Pannal Ash.
Alex Hornby, chief executive of Harrogate Bus Company, said:
“Every year, air pollution causes up to 36,000 deaths in the UK so our Harrogate Electrics buses play a vitally important role in clearing the air and protecting our local environment.
“Alongside our electric buses, trees help by absorbing even more carbon dioxide emissions.”
Clean Air Day is normally held in June but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The local campaign group, Zero Carbon Harrogate, welcomed the news. Chair Jemima Parker said:
“We are dedicated to making Harrogate a zero-carbon community by 2030 to secure a sustainable future, and The Harrogate Bus Company’s electric buses are making a vitally important contribution towards realising that ambition.
“As we begin rebuilding our local economy beyond the pandemic, we can’t just go back to congested streets and traffic jams.”
Couple’s mission to plant 100,000 trees in Harrogate district
Husband and wife Christopher and Helen Neave are on a mission to plant 100,000 trees in the Harrogate district before 2030 — and they say the biodiversity benefits for everybody living here will be profound.
Their business Make It Wild started 10 years ago when they bought a 26-acre plot of land near Kirk Hammerton.
Helen told the Stray Ferret they were inspired after planting 20,000 trees on the land. She said after waiting five years for the trees to grow, the amount of wildlife that came was “absolutely incredible”.
She said:
“It was an oasis of nature with insects, birds and mammals.”
The site is now home to a vast array of wildlife and known locally as Sylvan Nature Reserve.
Helen was a consultant surgeon in the NHS for most of her career and said that what started out as a semi-retirement project for the couple has taken off massively.
Make It Wild has since bought more sites in Nidderdale including 111 acres at Bank Woods and a 44-acre neighbouring site known as Dowgill Grange.
Working with the Woodland Trust and the Forestry Commission, Make It Wild has already planted more than 16,000 trees across both sites and this year Bank Woods was designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.
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To fund the tree planting, Make It Wild sells tree dedications for weddings or birthdays, carbon offsetting for businesses and eco-friendly products including animal habitat boxes.
Helen added:
“People are always building houses, roads and runways so we thought we’d do our little bit to give some space back to nature. It’s captured people’s imagination.
“With lockdown people are appreciating how important it is to connect with nature. We’ve lost so much of that as a society.”
The Woodland Trust says trees provide crucial habitat for much of the UK’s wildlife. However, we lag behind other European countries when it comes to woodland. 13% of the UK’s land area is woodland whereas France and Germany have 31% and 32% respectively.
Make it Wild’s mission statement is to “give space back to nature” and several local companies have partnered with it to plant more trees. These include Full Circle Funerals, which is paying for a tree to be planted for every family it supports whilst off-setting the carbon of its funerals.
Helen said Make It Wild is on the lookout for more land in the Harrogate district to reach its target of 100,000 trees.
Helen said anyone who owns a piece of land can do their bit.
She said:
“Even if you can’t plant hundreds of trees, just plant one in your garden that will attract wildlife. Everybody can do their little bit to help.”
A group of Harrogate residents have raised concerns after a property developer chopped down five trees in the grounds of St Mary’s Church.
One of the residents, Matthew Weller, said he noticed that three trees had been felled last week. A couple of days later he woke to the sound of chainsaws.
It is unclear at this time whether the trees are protected or in a conservation area. The council is investigating.
Mr Weller rushed out of his flat as he watched the fourth tree fall. He asked to see their workman’s paperwork but said he was dismissed. The workers chopped down a fifth tree soon after.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“The planning department has not made any decision on the original planning application from a year ago so we stopped paying attention to it. We are not trying to halt this process, we recognise that it needs redevelopment. This group just wants the best possible outcome for everyone.”
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The group has now got 45 members and has called a meeting for residents outside Westcliffe Hall at 4pm this Saturday. The organisers have asked just one person per household to attend.
St Mary’s Church on Harlow Terrace dates back to 1916 and is a Grade II* Listed Building. The church has structural problems and is in need of a lot of work.
What remains of the trees at St Mary’s Church.
The Stray Ferret approached Hattersley Property Solutions as well as Shaw and Jagger Architects with a request for comment. Both said they were not responsible for the felling of trees.
A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council told the Stray Ferret that it is considering placing a Tree Preservation Order on the remaining trees:
“We have been made aware of trees that have been removed from the site and we are now looking into whether that has been a breach of planning conditions, or not.”
Those who deliberately destroy a protected tree face fines up to £20,000 per tree through a magistrates’ court.
Police crackdown as vandals pull up trees on the StrayVandals have pulled up young trees on the Stray in the evening that police officers cracked down on large groups.
Community police officers tried to disperse some of the larger groups yesterday and reminded them of the social distancing guidelines.
Some rebutted the officers and claimed that they were all in different groups of six or that they were all from the same family.
The levels of litter this morning were not close to the mounds of rubbish left the day before. A new problem has emerged this morning but it is unclear who is responsible.
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Judy d’Arcy Thompson from the Stray Defence Association (SDA) said this morning that the uprooting of trees just adds to the “horrendous destruction.”
“We now seem to have marauding gangs of youths wreaking mayhem on our Stray. The drunken, lewd and downright disgusting behaviour is going on all night every night. There seems to be no limit to what they will do or how disgusting their behaviour can become.”
Police dispersed groups on the Stray yesterday evening.
She added that the SDA has seen reports of mass gatherings, drug-taking and dealing on a huge scale as well as youngsters urinating and defecating.
An SDA committee member Guy Tweedy had planted the trees in memory of several people.
The Stray Ferret has approached both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Police for a comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.