Victory hailed for 'people power' as campaigning neighbours raise shares to buy Harrogate's first community woodland

A greenbelt site in Harrogate, last year threatened with a relief road to ease congestion woes, is now to be bought as the area's first community-owned woodland.

Protestors to the plans, having sold shares in a scheme to raise £300,000 before last night's deadline, are jubilant in relief they can now buy the setting outright.

"We stopped the road, now we're starting a forest," said father James McKay of the board behind what will now become Long Lands Common.

"This is a real power-to-the-people moment. We're just absolutely thrilled, that everybody has got behind this to bring the power to a community."

The 30-acre site, adjacent to beauty spot Nidd Gorge in an area forming the ancient Knaresborough Forest, has long been at the centre of furious debate.

Plans for a bypass were abandoned last year, in the wake of protests as a community rallied.

Then, to take it one step further, campaigners approached the landowner themselves. They had until last night to sell enough shares to buy the land outright.

One elderly lady sent a cheque for a couple of pounds, with a card expressing her sorrow that she couldn't give more, while other wealthy backers have spent generously.

"The majority are just ordinary people who are fed up with overdevelopment," said Mr McKay.

Wildflower meadows

The scheme, which can now begin in earnest, aims to create a space for all to access, with open grasslands, wooded areas, wildflower meadows and thickets.

A huge priority would be in encouraging outdoor education, something which has received avid backing from local schools, which could use it as a teaching resource.

"We want to see schools on site and to see children learning about nature, taking ownership for a bit of planting or some wildflowers," said Mr McKay.

"It's a beautiful area of greenbelt land, with just a tiny proportion that is accessible to the public. We want to make it a real amenity space.

"The aim is for it to be a beacon for the whole community, to educate itself about protecting our environment. The outcome is that we create this wonderful nature reserve."

Empowerment

Reflecting on the long battle over development plans for the site, which had seen uproar from conservationists and residents alike, Mr McKay said campaigners had wanted more than a 'nimby-ism' victory which could be forgotten and fade with the passing of time.

As Long Lands Common, a space owned by the community for the betterment of the community, the hope is that it can be protected for generations to come.

"It always seems to be about protesting - about stopping something," said Mr McKay. "We wanted to use that energy in a positive way.

"Part of it may have something to do with a feeling at the moment of not being able to 'do' anything, that feeling that many people have of being a bit shut away and isolated.

"They have been able to get behind this project. And we've come to value these spaces more than we might otherwise have done."

Shares scheme

Hundreds of shares have been successfully sold to own a piece of Long Lands Common, raising in excess of the £300,000 needed to buy the site.

With fundraising having even exceeded its target, Long Lands Common Limited, as a Community Benefit Society, can now put in infrastructure to open up the land as quickly as it can, putting in pathways and entrances.

Furthermore, it has also now agreed to extend the share scheme for a further month, given levels of interest as more people come forward to be a part of the project.

The share offer will now run until December 20, aiming to target £375,000. Shares are sold at £1, with a minimum investment of £50, which buys a lifetime membership and shareholding which can be passed to future generations.

Chris Kitson, fellow board member, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and a massive demonstration of the power of community action.

"It is proof that there is great enthusiasm and demand for a greener, more sustainable way of life, where people can have more influence and a greater say in shaping the communities they live in.

"Record numbers of local people responded to the public consultation to reject the road that would have been disastrous for the local environment. Thousands of those same people have now taken positive action to show that they want a nature reserve instead of a road and they have funded it from their own pockets.

"That gives us all some hope for the future. It shows we can think and act for ourselves and be the change we wish to see in the world."

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