Incredible success for half a million pound campaign to create Knaresborough Forest Park

The speedy success of the community campaign means 60.81 acres have been secured between Knaresborough and Starbeck in Harrogate to create a community green space and nature reserve safe from housing development.

But Renaissance Knaresborough, which only launched its fundraising campaign in December, keen to stress that the fundraising must continue to turn their dream of creating Knaresborough Forest Park into a reality as, to pay back the loan, they will need to raise around £300,000.

As well as nearly 1,000 pledges from the public to buy shares in the Knaresborough Forest project, the campaign has been boosted by two hefty donations:

An interest-free philanthropic loan by We Have The Power, an organisation set up by impact investor Julia Davies, to empower community groups to improve local biodiversity and help tackle the climate crisis.

A generous donation from the Yorkshire-based George A Moore Foundation.

Liz Baxandall, chair of Renaissance Knaresborough, said: “The combination of the loan, substantial donations and community pledges have enabled us to realise the dream of protecting the greenbelt and delivering such a wonderful legacy project.

"Julia's last-minute loan enabled us to secure all the land, a goal we had thought was unrealisable.

“We are so very grateful for all the amazing support we are receiving.

“There is so much concern about the amount of building going on and worry that the green belt won’t be protected in the future.

"We now want to make good use of the land to: enrich wildlife; do our bit as a community to help tackle climate change and of course, to honour our Knaresborough Forest heritage whilst making what we hope will be a huge difference to the lives of local residents."

Home to many species of flora and fauna, the fields Renaissance Knaresborough is purchasing for the community were once the eastern end of the ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough, which lies between the Beryl Burton Cycle Way and the A59 and adjoins Long Lands Common at one end and drops down towards the River Nidd at the other.

To this day, they boast panoramic views, taking in the town, the Castle and St. John’s Church.

Inspired by the success of the Long Lands Common campaign in 2020 which successfully purchased land near Nidd Gorge for the community, Renaissance Knaresborough still needs public support going forward.

“We will pay off the philanthropic loan with the money people are pledging so please keep those pledges coming in.

"We are so thankful to the team at Long Lands Common for their advice and support, and to all our volunteers.

“More than 900 people have already pledged but we need that extra push now to bring in as many pledges as possible, so we can move forward together on this exciting journey.”

George Eglese, a director of Knaresborough Forest Project, said: "The community has come together and achieved something to be incredibly proud of, something that will be there for many generations to come.”

To pledge to buy community shares, visit www.knaresboroughforestpark.org

Renaissance Knaresborough is also looking for volunteers to help with leafleting and administration.

For more information about volunteering email: [email protected]