Harrogate Borough Council

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21 November 2007: RESIDENTS of Bilton are set to have their own park, as Harrogate Borough Council has completed the purchase of over four acres of land just off Bachelor Gardens close to North Outfall Allotments.  

 

This land is dedicated open space and has historical links to the Bilton Endowed School established in 1793 by brothers Richard and Francis Taylor.  The school closed in 1974 and relocated to the new larger site of the current Richard Taylor School.

 

Local residents and school children have already helped shape proposals for this open space but a second round of public consultation will get under way on Saturday, 8 December between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm at Bilton Cricket

Club.  This meeting will look at what has been suggested so far and will lead to finalising plans including a name for the park and the location of entrances.

 

Councillor Pat Jones, Cabinet Member for Cultural Services says the council's parks team is pleased at the interest being shown in the possibilities for this new park.  She said:  "Bilton is a fairly built-up area and this land is the last potential site for providing public open space.  Surveys undertaken over recent years identified that there was a clear under-provision of open space in the area and this purchase fulfils a key target for us in the current Harrogate District Local Plan. 

 

"Although developer commuted sums have secured the purchase, it couldn't have been achieved without the support of the Trustees of the Richard Taylor Charity.  We are very grateful to those Trustees who have conveyed the land to the council for this recreational purpose."

 

It was County Councillor Heather Garnett who, as one of the Richard Taylor Trustees, first saw the potential for this much-needed community facility.  She said:  "It has taken us a long time to get here but I am delighted to have been instrumental in making sure that this land is protected and will be used in perpetuity for local people's pleasure."

 

More than 280 responses were made to the first round of consultation held in October including an excellent response from school children from Richard Taylor School and Bilton Grange Community Primary School.

 

An overwhelming majority of residents want to see marked footpaths but they also want to keep the park natural looking.  When asked about planting, wildflower meadow was the first choice and over 117 respondents said they would like to attract wildlife to the area including bird, bats and hedgehogs.

 

Work will start on the park early next year.  ENDS       

 

NOTE TO EDITORS: The purchase of the site from the Richard Taylor Educational Foundation has been financed by commuted open space payments provided by developers in line with Harrogate Borough Council's planning policy.

 

The land was once part of the six-acre site of the former Bilton Endowed School and was used as playing fields up to 1972 when the school moved to its present site at Bilton Lane.