Civic society raises concerns over 'spate of vandalism' at Grade II-listed Knaresborough House

The high street building is one of the Knaresborough’s grandest properties and was built in 1768 for the former vicar of Knaresborough.

It’s now owned by the new council after previously being in the hands of Harrogate Borough Council until it was abolished on March 31.

The Northallerton-based authority is currently advertising office space to rent inside Knaresborough House.

But according to Knaresborough Civic Society, which has a motto of ‘protect, preserve and conserve’, the building is in a poor state of repair following a spate of vandalism.

Andrew Grinter, secretary at the civic society, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the group has written to the new council to ask when boarded-up windows will be replaced.

He said: “It appears that Knaresborough House has been facing vandalism issues for a while and we would like to know what, if any, plans are in place to restore the boarded windows and address the continuous problem of vandalism?

“[We’d like to know] what steps have the local council, the police and others taken to address the worsening situation and protect individuals using the building or its grounds particularly for civic duties?

“And have there been any efforts to engage with the community, particularly youth groups, to address the root causes of anti-social behaviour?”

North Yorkshire Council is facing much-publicised cost pressures that are set to continue over the next few years.

It is estimated the council will cut £70m over the next three years just to balance its books.

One of the new unitary council’s early cost-cutting programmes will be to sell off some of the former district, borough and county council properties, which comes to more than 3,500 properties excluding schools.

Although there is no indication at this stage that Knaresborough House will be sold, Mr Grinter raised concerns that the cost-savings could lead to further decline at the property.

He added: “As far as cost saving budgets are concerned, we want to know what criteria are being used to determine which properties are deemed surplus to requirements?

“One obvious concern is that under investment, including in Knaresborough House, aligns with the council’s overall cost-saving strategy and this will impact on decisions concerning the upkeep and repair of one of Knaresborough’s key heritage assets.”

North Yorkshire Council has been approached for comment.