300 people pledge cash for Harrogate’s first community-owned woodland

A new campaign to raise £300,000 via www.longlandscommon.org to buy land next to Nidderdale Greenway to create Harrogate’s first community-owned woodland is more than five per cent towards its target already.
Harrogate's first community woodland? The proposed site, to be known as Long Lands Common, will border the Nidderdale Greenway, close to its starting point at The Avenue, Starbeck and the Bilton Triangle.Harrogate's first community woodland? The proposed site, to be known as Long Lands Common, will border the Nidderdale Greenway, close to its starting point at The Avenue, Starbeck and the Bilton Triangle.
Harrogate's first community woodland? The proposed site, to be known as Long Lands Common, will border the Nidderdale Greenway, close to its starting point at The Avenue, Starbeck and the Bilton Triangle.

People are being invited to register an interest to buy a share as part of a cooperative via the official website www.longlandscommon.org but campaign organisers are stressing that there is no requirement to pay money at this point of the project.

The proposed project will transform an available piece of Harrogate greenbelt farmland into a new 30-acre public woodland, accessible to all, with thousands of trees providing a rich habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.

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The woodland, to be known as Long Lands Common, will border the Nidderdale Greenway, close to its starting point at The Avenue, Starbeck and the Bilton Triangle.

It's the new project led by Nidd Gorge Community Action (NGCA) following its successful 3-year campaign against the 'Harrogate Relief Road' proposed by North Yorkshire County Council.

Bilton resident Chris Kitson, a teacher at the local Grove Academy and founding Chair of NGCA and its offshoot HALT (the Harrogate and Knaresborough Alliance for Less Traffic said: "We now have nearly 300 pledges to buy shares but we need an army of 6000 shareholders to buy a share of the green belt for £50 each.

"A big community effort will make this project happen!"

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A Social Enterprise, with the legal status of a Community Benefit Society – Long Lands Common Limited - has now been set up to allow money to be raised through a community share offer.

When the share offer is ready, in May, people will be able to buy as many £50 shares as they like but each person will only have one vote when it comes to decision making in order to ensure that the community retains control of the project.

Chris Kitson said: "We're reminding people that they don't have pay now, during this difficult time, we're asking them just to register their interest to buy a share when the share offer is ready.

"We're also asking for community help to promote the project using our posters, available to download on our website."

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To find out more about the project and to register their interest in becoming a shareholder and making this proposal a reality, the public are being encouraged to visit www.longlandscommon.org

The website will also feature a home education section set up to provide outdoor-based activities, for children stuck at home during the Coronavirus emergency.

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