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Hardly surprising after the deluge (or two)
I think it may need re-seeding. 🙂
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-49919209
Good job it wasn’t the cyclo cross World Championship!
Good job it wasn’t the cyclo cross World Championship!
Actually, why don't they just have it now?
Word has it that the locals viewed the event more or less a total disaster for the town overall.
Indeed, plenty of detractors and moaners... but that is Harrogate for you.
The UCI and HBC have made provision for making good West Park... not that that will stop anyone moaning.
You should hear my FiL, he moans at the best of times but this has had him in meltdown mode... and he doesn't even use West Park or the Stray for anything...
Word has it that the locals viewed the event more or less a total disaster for the town overall.
There was a mix of views but as usual, the Harrogate Advertiser and Stray FM spent a lot more time giving the naysayers and doom-mongers airtime than the people who thought it was a good thing.
I thought it was great although it was a real shame about the weather - I think a lot of the income stream for the event was centred on the events going on on The Stray so it will have had a severe impact on the financial bottom line by closing that.
That said, The Stray is badly drained at the best of times, it doesn't take much to turn that area into a muddy puddle. Really needs completely digging up and better drainage installing and ideally a lot more trees and greenery to absorb some of the water. But yeah, it's grassland, it'll be back to normal in a couple of months at most and the locals can find something else to moan about.
Lots of missed opportunities IMO, including from local businesses who could have done more to capitalise on it. It’s not like a tour. Town was in lockdown for 2 weeks and people generally avoided it. I thought the racing was great but needed to centre around a bigger urban area
Did they have any sort of mats down to protect the ground? It would have been a good idea on the main vehicle access routes at least.
This sort of thing. https://tufftrak-safety.com/
Indeed, plenty of detractors and moaners… but that is Harrogate for you.
Of course there’s plenty of the tractors and mowers, it’s Yorkshire
Would it not have made more sense to use the showground ?
It seems like the more logical choice.
Did they have any sort of mats down to protect the ground? It would have been a good idea on the main vehicle access routes at least.
Yes, but not many TBH... lots of hay... but hey 🤷♂️
Another point to make...
Those houses on the Eastern side (Specialized shop side) have grazing rights to West Park and also, the houses on the Kn’bro road and to where that funny Victorian Folly thing is all have grazing rights to that side of the Stray...
Woe be tide anyone who grazes cattle on there 🤣🤷♂️😱🤹♂️
I too wondered why it wasn’t in the Showground... Guess HBC wanted the glory shots of Town splattered all over the world (250m viewers)
. Town was in lockdown for 2 weeks and people generally avoided
That was 1 of the big problems... Town was very much open, I really enjoyed the traffic free environment, BUT ... imho ... the local businesses didn’t push the We are Open message so a large number of locals did think town was shut 😟
Did they have any sort of mats down to protect the ground?
.. Yes , and lots of it,
I did ( do? ) have a bit of sympathy for some of those affected , but when 78% of local businesses didn’t attend any of the free pre event roadshows put on to help them plan that sympathy is spread pretty thin,
And for those comparing the current state of the stray to a war zone or the Somme, Well to be honest words fail me 😡
Oh, don’t forget the Stray Defence Association is a self appointed , Extremely vocal , Single issue pressure group with a very narrow point of view
Would it not have made more sense to use the showground ?
It seems like the more logical choice.
& sensible choice.
It's ok saying it was a great success but lots of businesses lost a fair bit of revenue. A greengrocer in town reckoned his takings were down by 50% & a colleague said her hairdresser had lost 1k from what she normally took in a week, etc etc. I would reckon the only businesses that made a fortune would be accommodation, pubs/bars, eateries & coffee shops near the event centre.
Woe be tide anyone who grazes cattle on there
The Stray is sacred ground to Harrogatonians.
the local businesses didn’t push the We are Open message so a large number of locals did think town was shut 😟
Well many businesses have spent the last 18 months telling people it'll be pandemonium, you won't be able to get into town. Even if you can, don't come here as I'll probably close because I can't get here.
It's little surprise people then didn't go.
Most business that was pro active seems to have done well out of it.
Hair dressers will be busy the week after and before people still need their hair cut.
Green grocers obviously will lose the weeks trade but for the majority of businesses, they'll have a normal month with a bad 7 days in the middle.
The Stray is sacred ground to Harrogatonians.
Actually it’s the Queens ground, and you are not allowed to do anything with it.
The hospital had to get permission from the queen to drive an MRI van up a small road at the back of the hospital
and you are not allowed to do anything with it.
Though somehow they managed to build all over it. It's supposed to be unbroken common ground connecting all the wells/springs of Harrogate, eg it should go all the way up to bogs Lane from Harlow Carr.
Also strange how no one seems too bothered about the illegal parking on the verges - genuinely illegal as its prohibited by AoP - but they do get upset about cycling on the foot ways.
Technically the only bits of Harrogate owned by the duchy of Lancaster are bits of the dutchy estate. The stray is common ground established by act(s) of Parliament so needs parliamentary approval and thusly Royal ascent to do much of anything with but its not owned by the DoL.
1770 a big chunk of the forest of Knaresborough is inclosed (sic) (this bit does now belong to the DoL)
1778 the great award establishes the stray (the bit not enclosed) as permanently unenclosed - eg without any ownership.
1841 they establish access rights belonging to "gate owners"
1881 this rights are bought by the corporation of the Harrogate municipal Borough.
In 1985 HBC is established and the current stray act passed in parliament, it requires approval from the secretary of state to do much with the stray, and, anything lasting more than 35* days (such as long term ambulance access (they had to get out for the air ambulance too) or specifically prohibited by the act (driving on our over) needs parliamentary "approval".
*35 might be the wrong number.