Knaresborough Forest Park sale goes through but funds still need to be raised to restore town's ancient forest

The sale of the land between Harrogate Road and the Beryl Burton cycleway is finally complete, and Long Lands Common Ltd (LLC) now owns a further 60-acre area of greenbelt land which will be named Knaresborough Forest Park, as it once formed part of the ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough.

This acquisition realises campaigners’ dreams to create a green corridor stretching almost continuously from the River Nidd in Knaresborough to the Nidderdale Greenway near Bilton.

This acquisition makes Knaresborough Forest Park (KFP) part of the Long Lands Community, a grassroots organisation which was successful in launching Harrogate’s first ever community-owned woodland and nature reserve in 2020.

The purchase was made possible by a very generous grant from the George A. Moore Foundation in Knaresborough and a loan from We Have The Power, a philanthropic organisation which allows charities and community groups to buy land and subsequently repay the loan through share schemes, grant applications and fundraising.

The share scheme is now live and can be accessed here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/long-lands-community

Geoff Freeston, site lead for the KFP team, said “We are hugely grateful to Renaissance Knaresborough for having the vision to launch the Knaresborough Forest Park campaign in December 2022.

"We also owe KFP ‘s existence to the George A Moore Foundation, for offering us such a generous grant early in the campaign, and to We Have The Power – without support from those organisations, we could not have bid for the land.”

We Have The Power asks borrowers to pay back the loan as soon as possible so that they can recycle the funds and empower other communities to buy land for rewilding, nature restoration or community food growing.

To encourage fast repayment, the loan will incur interest charges in three months’ time, so it is urgent that LLC raises the funds as quickly as possible.

The Long Lands Common team is now urging everyone in the Harrogate area to buy shares to repay the loan and contribute to this community project.

Chris Kitson, secretary of Long Lands Common, said that the LLC Board would like to place on record their sincere thanks to the Harrogate office of Walker Foster Solicitors that has helped make this transaction possible.

“The Property team under Craig Williams has provided invaluable support and expert legal advice throughout the whole process, in addition to hugely adjusting their professional fees in order to support our voluntary organisation,” said Mr Kitson.

"By their actions, Walker Foster has truly shown that they are fully committed to helping the local community and playing a positive role in the areas that they serve.

"In particular, we would like to express our huge gratitude to Allan Stewart at Walker Foster, who has shown a commitment to this cause above and beyond his professional responsibility.

"It has been a complex and lengthy case, and he has shown perseverance and sensitivity throughout.”

Now that the sale is complete, work can begin on the land and on restoring Knaresborough’s ancient forest.

There will be lots of opportunities for volunteers to get involved with activities such as tidying up hedges and repairing fences and gates, before getting started on the long-term projects for the land, which include rewilding and some reforesting, as well as creating a community food field and an education area for learning land-based skills.

The expansion of the Long Lands Community also means that there will be a need for more volunteers for other types of tasks such as admin, IT, volunteer co-ordination and grant applications.All supporters are invited to

join in a celebration on Tuesday, August, 13 called Knaresborough Forest Day.

What is Knaresborough Forest Day?

This annual day has been created by Knaresborough Town Council to commemorate the enclosure of Knaresborough Forest in 1770, an act which deprived the people of access to large areas of previously common land. Long Lands Community will be celebrating the restoration of the land to common ownership through their purchase of KFP.

To celebrate Knaresborough Forest Day, the Town Council is also organising a guided walk at 10am from the castle to the 'Knaresborough Forest entrance' at the bottom of the Beryl Burton cycleway.

Supporters who wish to take part in that event will arrive at the riverside in time to be guided up the cycleway by one of the KFP team and join in the Long Lands Community celebrations.

Alternatively, supporters can meet for the Long Lands event at noon at the junction of the Beryl Burton Cycleway and Bilton Hall Drive.

Check out the websites:

https://www.longlandscommon.org

https://knaresboroughforestpark.org/