Harrogate Borough Council

 

16 January 2008

 

The gate to over 30 acres of walled parkland in Scriven near Knaresborough is now open following completion of safety work by Harrogate Borough Council.  Miss Winifred Jacob Smith, who was the last surviving member of a prominent farming family, bequeathed the parkland for "people to enjoy the freedom and beauty that public parks bring".

 

Although the land transferred to the council before Christmas, further safety work was needed on some of the ancient trees.  This work has now been completed and public access has been arranged (via the existing entrance on Scriven Road), in advance of public consultation later this month.  The council wants to hear people's ideas about the future of the parkland and particularly on issues such as where they would like to see the public entrances located.

 

Councillor Pat Jones, Cabinet Member for Cultural Services, welcomes the opening: "We have been eager to open the parkland because we know people are excited about this new facility.  But as the land had never been open to the public before, we had to make sure that we had minimised any risk.  There are some wonderful ancient trees on the land and, although we had already done a lot of safety work on the trees themselves, we had to take some further steps to provide fencing around some of the trees before we could open the park.

 

"We hope that many local residents in Scriven, Knaresborough and surrounding villages will attend the public consultation.  In the meantime, we hope everyone will treasure and respect this parkland and take home their litter and dog waste so that everyone can get full enjoyment from walking in these acres of tranquillity."

 

The consultation will be in two phases.  The first meeting will be held on 26 January between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm at Park Grove Methodist Church, Knaresborough.   This will be a fact finding exercise and all local residents, school children and businesses will be invited to attend as well as other interested parties.

 

As well as showing plans and photographs of the parkland in its current state, officers from Harrogate Borough Council's Parks' Team want to hear the public's ideas, particularly about issues such as where they would like to see the public entrances located.   These early ideas can then be demonstrated on the plans to give people a better understanding of what can and can't be done.

 

The council will turn these ideas into draft proposals for a final consultation in the spring.  All proposals will be subject to final approval by the Trustees. 

 

Miss Winifred Jacob Smith was the last survivor of the Jacob Smith family.  The family originated from Humberton where they were prominent members of the farming community.  They moved to Knaresborough at the beginning of the twentieth century.  Miss Jacob Smith and her sister, Dorothy, acquired Scriven Park from the Slingsby Estate and the park was home to their pedigree Ayreshire cattle herd.   Miss Jacob Smith's sister, Dorothy Jacob Smith, died in the 1980s and it had long been their intention to preserve the tranquillity of Scriven Park for the benefit of the public.

 

Further technical detail is available from Patrick Kilburn on 01423 556704.