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NEWSLETTER

February 2019

In This Issue:

Committee update 4

Planning matters 5

A mystery diary 11

Harrogate Local Plan 11

M. Neesam’s book talk 12

St Wilfrid’s Church tour 14

Civic Society events 13, 16

Plaques—latest

Chairman’s Report “We already knew that the developer

wanted to re-vamp the gardens “

A bright winter’s morning at St Wilfrid’s Church, Harro-

gate’s only Grade I listed building. Civic Society mem-

bers had a talk and visit to the WWI exhibition on 3rd

February. See page 14 for more details.

I must begin once again with news of the grand

scheme for re-development of the old Council Offices at

Crescent Gardens for up-market apartments and re-making

of the gardens in front, which are public open space.

The development also includes taking over the road between

the building and the public gardens to provide private gardens

for the apartment owners. There will be a public exhibition

and consultation on the detailed plans this month.

Continued on page 2

It has been announced that the exhibition of the Crescent

Gardens’ plans is to take place at Rudding Park Hotel on

Thursday 14 February between 2 pm and 7 pm.

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I would encourage you to see the plans. You may be

surprised by the scale and complexity of the works

proposed, perhaps the most far reaching plans for

the area since the New Victoria baths were built on

the site in 1871. Small elements of this building still

exist that were incorporated into the present building.

Before I continue, I must make an apology. In the

November newsletter, at the top of page 2 there is a

typographical error. It reads as if the old HBC offices

are listed, but unfortunately they are not. The most

important word ‘not’ is missing. Some of you may

have observed that the sentence was rather odd!

Valley Gardens

The opening of the King Edward VII Memorial Gate

at Valley Gardens, along with the plaque on the rail-

ings and dedication of the rose gardens on 26th No-

vember was a most enjoyable occasion. The cere-

mony was conducted by the Chairman of NYCC,

Councillor Robert Windass and the Mayor of Harro-

gate, Councillor Bernard Bateman. This major pro-

ject by Friends of Valley Gardens was a wonderfully

fitting finale to the work of retiring Chairman Jane

Blayney, after her many years of service. All the hard

work of fundraising, liaising with the Council, design-

ing the work, putting in planning applications and

engaging craftsmen, plus overseeing the construc-

tion has been so worthwhile. It is clearly the most

significant voluntary project in the town just now, but

not forgetting the recent re-making of the Japanese

Garden and the renovation of the Magnesia Well

Pump Room and its surroundings, also undertaken

by Friends of Valley Gardens. After the ‘Gate’ cere-

mony, guests were invited to the Mercer Gallery. The

gallery being usually closed on Mondays, enabled us

to freely enjoy the reception with a generous buffet

and a glass of wine. White wine only, in case of acci-

dents, which was just as well, as I did see one glass

dropped!

The Old Swan Hotel —1

As most of you will be aware, we have been unhap-

py about applications for a block of flats and more

recently a large single dwelling on the walled gar-

den site at the rear of the Old Swan Hotel. I went to

see RHS Harlow Carr about plans they have for the

Harrogate Arms, which they have bought to im-

prove their facilities for the public and for their staff.

While I was there, I mentioned the impending de-

struction of fruit trees in the Old Swan walled gar-

den. They said that they did not have manpower to

do anything physically about them, but could give

advice and direct us to people to contact. This has

proved fruitful(!). As a result, I have contacted the

Northern Fruit Group, who are investigating the va-

rieties and taking cuttings. This could enable them

to discover any rare varieties and propagate them,

so something may be saved from the destruction of

most of the fruit trees in the cause of development.

The Old Swan Hotel —2

I wonder if you have noticed that a patch of Stray

land in front of the Old Swan Hotel has been re-

claimed from disc parking. It has now been grassed

over and surrounded by double kerbs to discourage

future parking. Car parking began as an illicit use

and became a habit for many years. Unfortunately it

was erroneously made official and the land was

tarmacked and signs were put up. The Council now

have no record or memory of who may have au-

thorised it, but at last the proper status and use of

the land is more clearly defined, rather than it just

‘perhaps the most far reaching

plans for the area since the

New Victoria baths were built

on the site in 1871.’

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being on a map which seemed to get ignored.

Thanks to HBC for righting a wrong.

UCI Cycling Championships

We met Paul Campbell of HBC, who was instrumen-

tal in having the above patch of Stray restored, on

another matter. The UCI Road World Champion-

ships are, as you probably know, going to take place

in Harrogate in September. The heats will be spread

over 9 days, but use of parts of the Stray will occupy

26 days. This is a very substantial part of the alloca-

tion limit of 35 days per year of use that the Stray Act

allows. The Cycling Championships also require a

larger area of Stray use than the Act allows which is

3.5 hectares at any one time. For this reason, the

Council has applied to the Government for a tempo-

rary suspension of the Act. No doubt this will be

forthcoming because the Government is keen to

have this ‘Olympics of Cycling’ and has put a large

sum of money into it. However, they are not keen to

keep suspending the Act and this is the last time that

the Council will be applying for this favour. All events

in future will have to be carefully managed so as to

keep within the restrictions of the Act. Paul Campbell

suggests that these restrictions are not 100% clear!

Cycling on Otley Road

North Yorkshire Highways are planning a cycleway

along Otley Road. There are many problems with

this and, as far as we can see, little benefit. Between

the Prince of Wales Roundabout and Cold Bath

Road there is Stray land. Cyclists would have to

cross several junctions and part of the route would

have to be shared with pedestrians. Some trees

would be lost. The consultation period ends on the

15th February but does this have much meaning

when funds are apparently already devoted to the

cycleway?

Funding our Projects

Councillor John Ennis has kindly agreed to support

an application for a sum from his community fund

for a Civic Society project, preferably around the

Stray. We are working on the possibility of an infor-

mation board along Slingsby Walk. A good location

because of heavy pedestrian use with or without

dogs and cyclist use! No doubt there are many to

whom even the term Stray in this context is a mys-

tery. The Council who are granted the management

of the Stray by the Act needs to be contacted be-

cause, as we are all aware, all use of the Stray is a

sensitive matter.

Town Trails

Plaques are looming large in our activities at the

moment, led by Stuart Holland. On 22nd

November

we had a meeting about plaques at the newly

opened care home, The Manor House on Cornwall

Road— sumptuously appointed, it is too! The two

large wings of what was Waldenheath have been

demolished and extensions much more suitable for

the conservation area have been constructed. The

plaques meeting included five committee members,

‘as we are all aware, all use of the

Stray is a sensitive matter.’

Above: The Manor House, Cornwall Road

Left: Otley Road near Beech Grove

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Harry Satloka (who of his own volition does the free

walking tours of the town centre) and a newcomer to

our activities, Mr.Chris Dicken. Chris has developed

a deep and practical interest in the 80 or so Harro-

gate plaques and we are working with him to collate

information on plaques and ways of using plaques to

create town trails. We hope to improve the presenta-

tion of plaques - on our own website, or on a new

one specifically dedicated to plaques.

More on Plaques

Since our last Newsletter, two plaques that we have

been involved with have been unveiled. One is men-

tioned above – at the King Edward VII Gate and the

other at Library House on Regent Parade. Once

again our Mayor, Councillor Bernard Bateman, un-

veiled the plaque and we were invited into the house

by the owner who has put much thought into reno-

vating and improving the interior for modern domes-

tic requirements. This year could see four plaques

mounted – two for Bettys, one on their previous

premises at Cambridge Crescent and the other on

their current premises. The other two are planned for

the Yorkshire Hotel and the White Hart Hotel.

Susan Amaku

Festive Gathering - 15 December 2018

Fifty members and guests together with most of the committee,

enjoyed a pre-Christmas afternoon at the Club. Tea, coffee

(and wine) flowed. It was the first time in many years that we

have had a purely social gathering, and those attending certain-

ly seemed to find a lot to talk about. Susan Amaku (Vice Chair-

man) and Stuart Holland (Committee) briefly updated us on

HCS plans for 2019, including the exciting Plaque trail, a guide

to the many plaques in Harrogate marking buildings of historic

significance.

We would like to hear your views on events (talks, outings or

social) that we should consider for the future, and suggestions

to events@harrogatecivicsociety.org would be very welcome.

Angela Fahy

Committee Update

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, we have

decided to set up a number of groups to help us with

the management and promotion of the civic society

and to ensure that we meet our charitable aims. The

groups will be lead by committee members and we

hope that other members will join some of these

groups, The groups are as follows:

Communications - this will include membership,

education, newsletter, website, links with external

bodies, promotion etc.

Events - organising a programme of talks and visits

for members

Planning - commenting on planning applications and

responding to Local Plan consultations

Plaques - developing the brown plaque scheme, in-

cluding a website and walking trails

Projects - In addition to 'one-off' projects, this will

include regular projects such as Heritage Open

Days.

If you are interested in joining any of these

groups please do let us know!

Henry Pankhurst

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Signs & Shopfronts

The applications for Muckles Public House on West

Park for shopfront alterations and advertisements

have been approved but not without amendments.

An informative added to both applications reminded

that the area to the front of the property forms part of

the Stray. For this reason an ‘A’ board placed out-

side had to be deleted. Other amendments secured

were adjustments to the exterior lighting. One was

the deletion of a flood light at the rear which was ac-

tually redundant as it was to illuminate a sign painted

directly onto stonework, which was not allowed. Con-

ditions were placed to restrict activities on the rear

terrace from 9 am to 9 pm and that there must be no

outdoor speakers etc. for playing music. An informa-

tive was, as we had hoped, added to the advertise-

ment application that there was no implied consent

for the shopfront drawing which was unacceptable.

18 James Street, previously ‘East’ but now

‘Trespass’, has had a satisfactory application for

signage approved. The planners have negotiated

much more suitable signs than I described in the

November Newsletter. The building itself, that I de-

scribed in our response as ‘a hideous design and

unfitting for the Harrogate conservation area’, is un-

fortunately something that we can do nothing about.

The externally fitted roller shutters at 47 High Street,

Starbeck have been refused by the planners be-

cause they are visually intrusive and harm the street

scene and the setting of Starbeck Spa Conservation

Area. This is our newest conservation area and runs

along Spa Lane, so it is a very confined area. There

was no objection from the planners to the change of

use of the premises from launderette to off-licence.

The signs have also been refused due to a clut-

tered appearance, harm to visual amenity and

again to the setting of Starbeck Spa Conservation

Area.

The new care home at Pannal – Vida Grange, re-

applied for a double sign on poles in a ‘V’ shape on

the A61 Princess Royal Way. The first application

for an overlarge sign was withdrawn. The area of

the sign boards was 5.76 sq m. The next version

was an improvement and much reduced in size with

a signs area a 2.16sqm. However, the case officer

was still not satisfied and the size of the two boards

together was further reduced to .96sqm – exactly

one sixth of the original proposal!

We may have been a little ‘picky’ but comment was

sent on a small advertisement board at St. Peter’s

Church to be mounted to the left of the ‘Free Trade

Shop’ doorway, which is the south porch. Our argu-

ment is that there is a danger of advertisement clut-

ter which should be avoided, particularly because

St. Peters is a listed building.

It is particularly disappointing to see the frontage

works and advertisements that have appeared at

the Mykonos Restaurant on Mayfield Grove. All the

work was done without planning permission, but

some elements were given retrospective permission

Planning Matters

‘The building itself, that I de-

scribed in our response as ‘a hid-

eous design and unfitting for the

Harrogate conservation area’, is

unfortunately something that we

can do nothing about.’

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last year. Even after consent was given for decking

and a wall constructed of decking boards, further

work has been done without consent. One would

think that the applicant would be more careful after

enforcement had been involved! There is a very

heavy looking fascia, again constructed of timber

decking boards, which was in place at the time of the

first retrospective application. This never even got a

mention in the officer’s report in July 2017, even

though it was already in place and I believe may hide

attractive original fascia brackets.

The recent application (retrospective of course!) is

for a hefty canopy over the forecourt fixed to the

deep fascia, and two small rear extensions. The rear

extensions, although small, may cause problems of

access for other users of the back road and would

seem to leave no room for the commercial waste

bins. No application has ever been made for signs.

Since the canopy was added, this masked the fascia

sign, so what happened? A new fascia sign has

been erected above the canopy which rises high

enough to be above the bottom of the first floor bay

window! This and other signs have never had ex-

press permission, some of which were present at the

time of the 2017 retrospective application. I don’t like

to be critical, but I think the planners have not been

careful enough apart from the sins of the reluctant

applicant. It is all highly unsatisfactory for the conser-

vation area.

The Knox Arms Public House, Knox Lane is due to

be ‘rebranded’, which of course involves new signs.

Usually overkill is the name of the game in this re-

spect. We have asked for the deletion of two signs –

one at the entrance simply duplicates the totem sign,

also at the entrance. The other is a welcome sign

over an archway. There is a sign there already but

it is less obtrusive than the proposed, which stands

out too much, due to its colouring and it really

doesn’t need to be so long. The Knox Arms is a

listed building, so once again, sensitivity is required.

Car showrooms are often unfortunately an unhappy

hunting ground for advertisement excesses. The

case in question just now is at Evans Halshaw on

Freemans Way, which is off Wetherby Road and

can be seen from it. This site also requires sensitive

treatment. The wide grass verge along Wetherby

Road here is Stray land and the site is opposite the

boundary of the Crimple Valley Special Landscape

Area (SLA). Also it is in an Area of Special Control

of Advertisements (ASCA) and if that isn’t enough

reasons for sensitive treatment, Bilton Court a listed

building stands opposite. A pylon sign has been

applied for which looks to be on Stray land, so

should be deleted from the application. Permission

for four flags on poles and two flag shaped signs all

in a row along the Wetherby Road frontage is re-

quested. In addition a large double sign on the cor-

ner of the building would be too obtrusive. Other

signs have been applied for, but they are more

modest or well into the site and so are acceptable.

We have seen an application for the Ladies Fash-

ion shop, Julie Fitzmaurice at 38 Parliament Street.

The proposal is to change it to a restaurant (would

you believe!) Plans also show a changed shopfront,

where the central inset doorway would be moved to

the right- hand side, and the double doors changed

to a single door. The existing arrangement gives

more shop window display space, but of course that

would not be needed for a restaurant. It looks as

though attractive window panes

above the existing doorway would be

lost.

Benfield Ford on Knaresborough

Road has another application in for a

free-standing internally illuminated

pylon sign. This location is perhaps

not as sensitive as that of Evans Hal-

shaw, nevertheless such pylon or to-

tem signs have been refused in the

past.

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Do you remember the destruction by Persimmon

Homes of a long length of hedgerow on Penny Pot

Lane for which they were fined heavily plus having to

pay the Council’s prosecution costs? Well, not as

serious, but just more evidence that they must think

regulations don’t apply to them, six flagpoles and six

free-standing signs have been put up without plan-

ning consent on Otley Road.

Larger Housing Sites

The requirement of a 5 year supply of housing land

has been met as I reported in the November News-

letter. I issued caution as to how much effect this

might have in controlling development. This caution

was well founded as planning officers are saying that

the Council have only just arrived at the magic figure

and we cannot risk dipping below it. The result is that

on top of the thousands of homes already with plan-

ning permission, most of the applications large and

small are recommended for approval. The magic 5

year supply figure is not so magic after all! It

amounts to 3185 homes - 637 pa x 5. Housing appli-

cations validated and appearing in the weekly lists

from 12th October 2018 – 11

th January 2019 gave a

total of at least 1097 homes, an average of 84 per

week. On past experience, it seems to me that most

of those are approved. Note – 637pa is an average

of just 12 per week!

It is very disappointing that the scheme of delegation

for housing applications means that only applications

of 50 or more dwellings are seen by the planning

committee. Very occasionally a Council member

may ask for a smaller one to be brought before the

committee or there may be other reasons that a pro-

posal should not be determined by officers alone, but

this is rare. If I remember correctly, all new housing

applications used to go before the committee.

I must admit to not following housing sites as close-

ly recently as I used to in years gone by. There is

such a flood of housing applications. Comments

seem far less worthwhile these days with argu-

ments of over provision of adverse effects on traffic

and countryside counting for very little.

The long running saga at the Topseal site on Hook-

stone Chase (near Morrisons) has now passed the

milestone of achieving planning consent for hous-

ing. Topseal have relocated and permission has

been granted for 11 dwellings, the application hav-

ing originally been for 12 dwellings. The Council

were keen to preserve it as an employment site, but

an appeal was allowed recently for 9 dwellings. As

the business had been relocated, we were content

for some housing providing the trees on the old rail-

way embankment were safe and that sufficient

parking is provided because there is a lack of local

roads to cope. Our remaining concern is the prox-

imity of traffic on the heavily used Morrisons round-

about.

Further revised plans came forward for the new-

build proposal at Southfield on Station Parade,

which saw the building eased back from the road

allowing 3 fastigiate trees and a replacement cherry

tree to be planted. This was an improvement on the

pleached trees which we thought would look incon-

gruous and take light from first floor windows. The

plans were amended again and these simply revert-

ed to the unacceptable plans, except that the

ground floor frontage windows were retained as

‘proper’ windows, not blind ones. The application

has yet to be determined, although large obtrusive

hoardings have been placed around the site, but

they also have yet to be granted planning consent!

We responded to a new application for houses at

Spring Lane Farm, Pannal. The first application was

validated at the end of 2017, for 52 dwellings but

was withdrawn. The more recent proposal is for 48

dwellings, although the draft Local Plan suggests a

yield of 72 dwellings. Despite some small amend-

ments to the plans, we consider that housing on the

scale proposed is unacceptable and cannot under-

stand why the site was ever allocated. There are

too many drawbacks, the access, the unsuitability

of Spring Lane for additional traffic, an adverse

‘The result is that on top of the

thousands of homes already with

planning permission, most of the

applications large and small are

recommended for approval.’

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effect on the landscape (a SLA) and the Pannal con-

servation area.

The largest housing proposal ever for our District is

in. It is for the new settlement in the Green Hammer-

ton area. It includes up to 4000 homes, employment

land and two primary schools and other facilities re-

quired by a township. The other possible choice of

location for such a settlement was at Flaxby, but the

Council rejected it. In the Civic Society response to

Local Plan Consultations, it was Flaxby that we fa-

voured, if we actually need a new settlement consid-

ering the huge number of dwellings in the allocated

sites. Much time in the current Local Plan examina-

tion will be taken up with this part of the plan.

Smaller Housing Sites

I thought that the Council were on secure ground

when the demolition and replacement house at 28

Cornwall Road was refused although a garden room

was approved. Clearly the applicant doesn’t think so

because an appeal has been lodged recently.

The proposal to demolish 4 Belford Road and put a

small block of apartments on the site has now been

withdrawn. This undesignated heritage asset contin-

ues to deteriorate. What will the next step be? Will

the applicant think again or sell it on, even in the

very poor state that structural reports showed? Dem-

olition did not find favour with the Council conserva-

tion officer.

The single dwelling in the orchard area at the rear

of the Old Swan Hotel, which was of a very in-

ventive design has now been approved after a few

amendments (see my notes in Chairman’s Report,

regarding the fruit trees).

The long running saga of 2, The Oval continues.

The first application was withdrawn. The second

one underwent amendments, but was re-

fused .There is an appeal in progress against this

refusal of demolition and the replacement block of 8

apartments. We now have a new proposal for dem-

olition and replacement with 8 apartments, the

difference being that the new building would be

similar to the existing in design and materials. We

accept this as a reasonable scheme.

A recent application has come in for 11 Granby

Road, which is a listed building. The plan is to con-

vert the loft to habitable accommodation. A serv-

ant’s staircase would be re-instated, but the conten-

tious aspects are the addition of rooflights and dor-

mers. The applicant is willing to reduce the number

of rooflights but the dormers are really problematic.

To have dormers at a satisfactory height up the roof

slope would entail cutting into a purlin or have the

purlin cutting across the dormer windows on the

inside, and they would not match the dormers at

No.10, which would not be ideal. The planners are

not content for the purlin to be cut or to have too

many or large rooflights.

‘The largest housing proposal

ever for our District is in. It is for

the new settlement in the Green

Hammerton area.’

2 The Oval, formerly the Harrogate Tutorial College

Spring Lane, Pannal

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Other Applications

The application for fences, walls, railings, a widened

access and replacement window frames at 24 Beech

Grove has caused some concern for the planners,

as it has done for us. The applicant is not pleased at

the many details that the planners don’t accept due

to adverse visual effects on the conservation area

and on views from the Stray. (See some detail in the

November 2018 newsletter).

The original building at the Police Convalescent

Home on Harlow Moor Road has undergone exten-

sions in the past, but further extensions have been

applied for. Naturally we would want the home to be

able to cope with additional needy cases, so in prin-

ciple we support extensions. Our concern was large-

ly about trees, the health of existing trees on the

boundary in particular. Can building methods be

adopted to ensure their survival and would they be

found inconvenient in the long term? Trees have so

many benefits. General feelings of well-being and

contentment are encouraged by a ‘green’ environ-

ment. The sight, sound and smell of trees are just

the sort of environment that is needed at a convales-

cent home. The aboricultural officer is concerned

about the long term fate of the trees and the con-

servation and design officers are concerned about

the siting and design of the extensions.

The Harrogate Convention Centre (HCC) applied

for some fairly small works in front of the Royal Hall

and Hall M (to the right of the Royal Hall). These

involved railings, bollards, benches and surfacing.

The benefits of the alterations were unclear to us

and the application was poorly presented – mention

that the site is in the conservation area was left al-

most to an afterthought. The fact that the Royal Hall

is a Grade II* listed building and that the work is

obviously within its setting got no mention at all!

The Design & Access Statement described the pro-

posal as a renovated entrance to give an updated

appearance and create a division between pedestri-

ans and vehicles. It said that pedestrians are using

the venue’s private area as a ‘short cut and interfer-

ing with the HCC Royal Hall attendees’- (really!)

The new boundary treatment is to provide a

‘contemporary design solution that will create a

statement boundary’. It is claimed that the roots of

mature trees to the left of the site would be unaf-

fected, even though new walls are shown built re-

markably close to the tree trunks. Existing bollards

at the bottom of the Royal Hall steps and planting to

the left of the steps were not shown on the plans.

We do not see the benefits of a profusion of bol-

lards, further restriction of the drop-off and pick-up

facility and potential damage to trees. More incon-

venience seems the logical outcome. Improvement

Trees have so many benefits.

General feelings of well-being and

contentment are encouraged by a

‘green’ environment.

Hall ‘M’ adjacent to the Royal Hall

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certainly could be made to the surfacing in front of

the Royal Hall. It was unclear from the application

how effective any such work would be. Approval has

been given.

Another HCC application shows changes in front of

the Conference Centre. Am I still allowed to call it

that? It makes it clear to you what I am talking about

though. The proposal shows alteration to the steps

up from Kings Road, (which has begun long before

the application has been determined), and rising bol-

lards to stop vehicles except service vehicles going

up the ramp (except for being able to just pull in off

the road). Also nine brick towers joined by pierced

aluminium panels and installation of benches etc.

are planned. The reasons are to provide a new aes-

thetic, enliven the entrance space to make it vibrant

and welcoming with a division between vehicles and

pedestrians. The hollow brick towers increase in

height the nearer the building they get. It was not

possible for me to measure their heights from the

computer screen but as an estimate, I would suggest

they range from 10 feet to 20 feet high minimum. As

they get taller, the footprints of the towers get larger.

The conservation and design officer is not supportive

of the towers, which are for decorative or ‘statement’

reasons and have little or no practical value. They

would have ‘missing’ bricks so that lights within

would make them attractive. A strange aspect of all

this work would be that the disabled ramp would be

on the vehicular side of the entrance, separated

from pedestrians, which would surely not be a

‘welcoming’ or inclusive aspect. I don’t consider

having bollards that could make delivering the in-

firm to events or delivering and loading bulky instru-

ments/equipment for concerts more difficult to be

very welcoming either! Is the cost of these works

and those outside the Royal Hall going to provide

aesthetic and practical benefits to make them really

worthwhile?

At the top of this section, I noted a request for a

widened access at 24 Beech Grove. This was from

2.8m – 4.4m (over 14ft), but there is an application

at 4 Wheatlands Road East to widen the access to

a greater extent, from 3m - 5m (over 16ft). We do

not think that this width of opening is appropriate for

residential premises in the conservation area as it

gives a rather an open plan effect.

There is a request for tree works at Christ Church. It

is to crown lift six trees according to the application

description. One of the trees has a TPO. The de-

gree of crown lifting would be up to 2m for 1 tree,

up to 2.5m for 3 trees and up to 5m for 2 trees. Mi-

nor works of lateral reduction and deadwooding are

also included. The arboricultural officer is content

that these works go ahead.

‘The reasons are to provide a new

aesthetic, enliven the entrance space

to make it vibrant & welcoming.’

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS

Last year’s festival saw Heritage

Open Days taking place for the first

time across two weekends. However,

In 2019, having listened to organisers

and visitors, the festival will be run-

ning for ten consecutive days from

13th to the 22nd of September.

Our theme for this year - ‘People

Power’ is in recognition of the 200th

anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre;

a recognition of the myriad ways that

people have changed the world, from

marches and sit-ins to peaceful pro-

tests and rebel songs.

Henry Pankhurst

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In December, the Civic Society were con-

tacted by Sheila Northover of Herne Hill,

South London, who had come across a man-

uscript whilst sorting through her father’s

cousin’s papers. This was entitled ‘Copy of

Miss Walton’s diary of her first visit to Lon-

don’ which took place in June 1904. She

forwarded the copy to us in case it might be

of interest, and we reproduce here an extract

of the first day of a visit lasting nineteen

days.

Her father’s cousin was Stella Addenbrook

(nee Scott) who grew up at 4 West Cliffe

Mount in Harrogate, but so far we have not

been able to identify who Miss Walton was

or where she lived.

Courtesy the Walker-Neesam Archive

Harrogate railway station

in the early 20th century

A Mystery Diary

The Harrogate District Local Plan

Harrogate Borough Council’s draft Local Plan has

reached the Examination stage following which

the Government’s Inspector will determine if the

Plan is ‘sound’. The Council needs to have its

Plan in place to enable it to control development

over the next two decades.

The Inspector (shown seated at the far end in the

photograph) has been listening to a wide range of

representations on legal compliance, housing

need, individual housing and employment sites,

new settlements, sustainable development, landscape and

green belt, transport and infrastructure, climate and flood

risk and heritage matters.

The hearings started on 15th January , lasting two weeks

and will resume again on 12th February for a few days. The

inspector will issue his report later in the Spring.

The Civic Society has been following the proceedings very

closely, as it could significantly affect the way that the town

and district develop in the future.

David Siddans

Local Plan hearings in

session at the Civic

Centre

12

A full house of members,

meeting at the Club in No-

vember, enjoyed hearing

about a select few of the

buildings from Mr

Neesam’s latest book.

First was the Victoria Cen-

tre. The Centre was unu-

sual in that there was pub-

lic consultation on its designs. The Palladian de-

sign was the one selected by the public . The near-

by railway station building (1862) was rebuilt in the

1960s. All that remains of the original is the Harro-

gate Tap pub.

Representing houses was the elegant Art Deco

house at 5 Southway (a private house, to be

viewed only from the pavement please). It incorpo-

rates the typical ‘sunburst’ style of the period in the

gates. Mr Neesam praised the sensitivity with

which the owners have maintained the Art Nou-

veau character.

The Crown Hotel developed from humble begin-

nings in about 1660. In the 1840s it had a substan-

tial overhaul in the Palladian style, and finally in the

1870s the frontage became what we recognise

today. It was taken over by the Ministry of Defence

in WW2 and was on a list of targets for the German air-

force.

The Royal Hall (1903) was built so that people who had

been to the spa offerings could then enjoy cultural activi-

ties. For this reason it was called the Kursaal (the name

can be seen over the entrance), since such halls were

popular features in German spa towns of the time. The

gardens and bandstand that lay behind it have long been

built over by the Harro-

gate International Cen-

tre.

A recent renovation of

The Chapel, Grove

Road (built in 1896)

has seen the building

brought back to life as

a guest house and

stylish exhibition/event

space. Other historic

buildings that have

been renovated in-

clude the Old Magnesia Well pump room (1857), by the

Friends of Valley Gardens, and the Royal Baths (by the

owner of the lavish Chinese restaurant now there).

There was a queue after the talk to buy copies of this ex-

cellent book.

Harrogate in 50 Buildings— a talk by Malcolm Neesam

Exciting Opportunity for a Civic Society Member.

Following the success of local Heritage Open Days, we are looking for a vol-unteer to assist with planning this year’s programme. Including liaison with attractions, sourcing new venues, publicity and maintaining contact with the National Trust who organise HODS.

This year sees celebration of 25 years of HODS – why not be part of it?

Just reply to HODS@harrogatecivicsociety.org

Angela Fahy

13

A talk by Dr Paul Jennings:

In the ballroom of The Granby Care Home

On Sunday 17 March at 2.30 pm.

Refreshments will be provided and a £5 charge will apply

Contact events@harrogatecivicsociety.org for further de-tails or to book a place.

In conjunction with Halifax Civic Society we have arranged to visit

the Square Chapel Arts Centre and Piece Hall, Halifax on Wednes-

day 12 June 2019 . The Square Chapel Arts Centre is a former

Georgian Congregational chapel of 1772, which was the subject of a

long, and ultimately successful, campaign to save it from demolition.

The Square Chapel is conveniently located across the road from the

rail station and the Eureka Children's Museum (car park) and adja-

cent to the Piece Hall. At Square Chapel a new extension was

opened in 2017 incorporating a second auditorium, cafe bar and

ticket office.

Subject to final arrangements, it is envisaged that the visit will begin

late morning and end mid afternoon, with the opportunity for refresh-

ments/lunch. Members will be informed of exact timings.

Please indicate your interest in attending by email to

events@harrogatecivicsociety.org and we will be in contact with

further details.

Visit to Piece Hall, Halifax

12 June 2019

Our next Civic Society events

Servants in Edwardian Harrogate

Visit to Manor House, Cornwall Road

28 April 2019

We will hear the story of how this property, for-

merly known as Waldenheath and then the Alex-

ander Court Care Home, has undergone a £12

million redevelopment, retaining part of the fa-

çade of the original building.

Currently Fully Booked

For events which are oversubscribed we keep a waiting list. It would be helpful therefore if anyone who has booked

an event and then cannot come, could inform ‘events’ at the earliest opportunity, so that others can take part.

14

On 3rd

February 26 members enjoyed a tour of St Wil-

frid’s Church, Harrogate’s only Grade 1 listed building.

It was described by the architect of Buckingham Pal-

ace as ‘perhaps the most beautiful of all the parish

churches I know’. Designed by Temple Moore (one of

England’s leading church architects) in the early

1900s , building started in 1904 and after Moore’s

death in 1920 was completed by his son in law Leslie

Moore. The style is Gothic Revival and it was built spe-

cifically as a place of worship for High Anglicans. While

mostly light filled and austere it has some very beauti-

ful painted features, in an Arts and Crafts style, and

these include a painted wooden triptych in memory of

men associated with the church who died in

WW1. These men are the focus of a tempo-

rary exhibition (ending on 24th

February).

Some came from prominent Harrogate fami-

lies, a few lived on the Duchy estate, some were the

sons of parents who spent a few years in Harrogate

(attracted by the business opportunities that the busy

spa town offered), some were young members of the

congregation who came from Harrogate and Pannal

to worship at the

church. The exhibi-

tion includes hang-

ing banners with a

photograph of each

man, and panels

telling each of their

individual stories,

and 800+ painted

jam jars (produced

by local schools,

one for every man

and woman named

on the Cenotaph in

Harrogate).

Members moved from the church to the Parish Hall

and saw the stunning Lamella roof, which at the time

of construction in 1934 would have been a very inno-

vative roof design.

St Wilfrid’s, like most churches, has to increase its

commercial revenue in order to maintain this stun-

ning building and we heard how both the church and

the Parish Hall are used for concerts and functions,

including a formal, candlelit evening dinner for 80

people held recently in the nave of the church. Mem-

bers attending the tour contributed generously to the

collection plate.

The Church is open to the public from 9.00 am until

5.00 pm every day and visitors are always welcome.

A list of service times is displayed on the church

website www.stwilfrid.org or on the notice board at

the gate on Duchy Road.

Visit to St Wilfrid’s Church

Angela Fahy

The painted wooden triptych in

memory of men associated with

the church who died in WW1.

The Church Hall showing the unique

wooden “lamella” ceiling

15

Corrections

(November 2018 edition)

On Page 13 (Events) The email ad-

dress of the Chairman of Friends of

Valley Gardens should have read:

jane.blayney23@gmail.com.*

The correct title for the new entrance to

the Valley Gardens is “The King Edward

VII Memorial Gate” not “Gates” as

printed.

*Note: Jane retired as Chairman of FOVG in

Dec 2018. For further information see

www.friendsofvalleygardens.co.uk

Library House, 1A Regent Parade

The latest brown plaque was unveiled at Library

House, Regent Parade on Tuesday 11th Decem-

ber 2018.

The unveiling was carried out by Councillor Ber-

nard Bateman, Mayor of Harrogate and followed

fascinating words about the history of Library

House from Malcolm Neesam.

In brief, the house was owned by Ely Hargrove

who was born in 1741. Originally the building

contained a shop but then c1800 became the

town’s first subscription library.

The words on the plaque speak well about the

history of the building. You may be able to read

the details on the photograph, but if not, why not

take a stroll out to the building and see this fasci-

nating plaque for yourself.

Plaques—latest

A small working group of members of the Civic

Society and committee members have been

meeting to plan the implementation of a new web

site that will feature all brown plaques in and

around the town. Each plaque has been photo-

graphed and relevant information noted before

being uploaded.

The web site will feature maps showing the loca-

tion of each plaque, interactive with a database

of key information. Initially it will show six trails to

take you on the shortest routes to view the

plaques first hand.

One of our members, Chris Dicken, is behind this

project and we are very grateful to him. The Civic

Society see this initiative as a means to engage

students, visitors and families in the history of our

town.

We hope to ‘go live’ in time for the summer holi-

days.

Trailblazing !

Stuart Holland

16

Assemble at Square

Chapel. Further de-

tails to be provided

Forthcoming Events A summary of Civic Society events over the next three months ……...

How to contact us by email:

General matters info@harrogatecivicsociety.org

Membership queries membership@harrogatecivicsociety.org

Events (queries or booking) events@harrogatecivicsociety.org

Heritage Open Days hods@harrogatecivicsociety.org

The HCS Newsletter is

supplied free to our

members four times a

year—in February, May,

August and November.

Published by Harrogate Civic Society Web Site: www.harrogatecivicsociety.org

Date to be con-

firmed

Sunday

17 March, 2019

2.30 pm

Talk by Dr Paul Jennings

Servants in Edwardian Harrogate

The Granby £5 to include

refreshmants

See page 13 for

details

… and some to note for later

Sunday

28 April 2019

2.30 pm

Rebuilding of former Wal-

dernheath Care Home to

become Manor House

Manor House

Cornwall Road

No charge but dona-

tions welcome to the

Harrogate Homeless

Project

Harrogate and Bilton in 1914

An illustrated talk by Keith Wilkinson on the

area at the outbreak of World War One

Late June 2019 Annual General Meeting

12 June 2019 Piece Hall, Halifax

Tour and talk by the Halifax Civic Society

* there is a waiting list , so would anyone who

has booked and cannot come, please inform

‘events’ at the earliest opportunity.

Free (tbc)

See page 13 for

details

Free Venue and further

details to be con-

firmed

Venue and further

details to be con-

firmed