Borough of Harrogate | |
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![]() Shown within North Yorkshire | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
Ceremonial county | North Yorkshire |
Admin. HQ | Harrogate |
Government | |
• Type | Harrogate Borough Council |
• Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
• Executive: | |
Area | |
• Total | 505 sq mi (1,308 km2) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 164,105 |
• Density | 320/sq mi (130/km2) |
Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
ONS code | 36UD (ONS) E07000165 (GSS) |
Ethnicity | 96.9% White 1.0% Mixed 0.8% S.Asian 0.8% Chinese or other 0.6% Black [1] |
Website | Harrogate.gov.uk |
The Borough of Harrogate was a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in the town of Harrogate, but it also included surrounding settlements, including the cathedral city of Ripon, and almost all of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. At the 2011 Census, the borough had a population of 157,869. [2]
The borough was abolished on 31 March 2023, and its functions were transferred to the new unitary North Yorkshire Council on 1 April 2023.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Masham and Wath rural districts, and part of Thirsk, from the North Riding of Yorkshire, along with the boroughs of Harrogate and the city of Ripon, the Knaresborough urban district, Nidderdale Rural District, Ripon and Pateley Bridge Rural District, part of Wetherby Rural District and part of Wharfedale Rural District, all in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The district was abolished by Government reforms on 31 March 2023 after 49 years of existence.
The district was part of the Leeds City Region, and bordered seven other areas; the Craven, Richmondshire, Hambleton, Selby and York districts in North Yorkshire and the boroughs of Bradford and Leeds in West Yorkshire. It fell primarily within the HG, LS and YO postcode areas, while a small part of it was within the BD area.
It was the county's fourth largest district, as well the seventh largest non-metropolitan district in England. It was previously the county's second largest district until 1 April 1996, when the parishes of Nether Poppleton, Upper Poppleton, Hessay and Rufforth were transferred from the Borough of Harrogate to become part of the newly formed York unitary authority area. According to the 2001 census, these parishes had a population of 5,169.
In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan county would be reorganised into a unitary authority. Harrogate Borough Council was abolished on 31 March 2023 and its functions were transferred on 1 April 2023 to a new single authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire. [3] [4]
Elections to the borough council were held in three out of every four years, with one third of the 54 seats on the council being elected at each election. After being under no overall control from the 2006 election, the Conservative party gained a majority at the 2010 election.
Following the 2016 United Kingdom local elections and subsequent by-elections, [5] the political composition of Harrogate was as follows:
Year | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Independent |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | 37 | 10 | 7 |
This was the last composition of the former 54 seat council, prior to boundary changes.
The composition of the new 40 seat council after boundary changes was as follows:
Year | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Independent |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | 31 | 7 | 2 |
The district was divided between three parliamentary constituencies: the whole of Harrogate and Knaresborough, the eastern part of Skipton and Ripon and the north western part of Selby and Ainsty.
By population:
1. Harrogate
2. Ripon (city)
3. Knaresborough
4. Boroughbridge
5. Pateley Bridge
6. Masham
The following people and military units received the Freedom of the Borough of Harrogate.
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North Yorkshire is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber and North East regions of England. It borders County Durham to the north, the North Sea to the east, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the south-east, South Yorkshire to the south, West Yorkshire to the south-west, and Cumbria and Lancashire to the west. Northallerton is the county town. The county was historically part of Yorkshire.
Nether Poppleton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It is by the west bank of the River Ouse and is adjacent to Upper Poppleton west of York. It is close to the A59 road from York to Harrogate. The village is served by Poppleton railway station on the Harrogate Line.
Upper Poppleton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated by the west bank of the River Ouse adjacent to Nether Poppleton, and west of York close to the A59 from York to Harrogate. The village is served by Poppleton railway station on the Harrogate Line. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,961, increasing to 1,997 at the 2011 Census. Before 1996, it was part of the Borough of Harrogate.
Harrogate is a spa town in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens. 13 miles (21 km) away from the town centre is the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Nidderdale AONB.
The Harrogate line is a passenger rail line through parts of North Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire area of northern England connecting Leeds to York by way of Harrogate and Knaresborough. Service on the line is operated by Northern, with a few additional workings by London North Eastern Railway starting and terminating at Harrogate. West Yorkshire Metro's bus and rail MetroCard ticket is available for journeys between Leeds and Harrogate.
Harrogate was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. As with all constituencies, the constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was renamed Harrogate and Knaresborough in 1997.
Skipton and Ripon is a constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Julian Smith, a Conservative.
Harrogate and Knaresborough is a parliamentary constituency in North Yorkshire which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Tom Gordon, an MP from the Liberal Democrats. The constituency was formed in the 1997 boundary changes, before which it was named Harrogate.
Pateley Bridge is a market town in the civil parish of High and Low Bishopside, in Nidderdale, in the county and district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales and just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Bilton is a suburb of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, situated to the north-east of the town centre.
Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then along the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.
The Nidderdale National Landscape is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire, England, bordering the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the east and south. It comprises most of Nidderdale itself, part of lower Wharfedale, the Washburn valley and part of lower Wensleydale, including Jervaulx Abbey and the side valleys west of the River Ure. It covers a total area of 233 square miles (600 km2). The highest point in the Nidderdale AONB is Great Whernside, 704 metres (2,310 ft) above sea level, on the border with the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Nidderdale was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1938 to 1974. It was created from the combination of most of the disbanded rural districts of Great Ouseburn and Knaresborough.
Ripon and Pateley Bridge was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1937 to 1974.
Ripon was a constituency sending members to the House of Commons of England, Great Britain and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1983, centred on the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire.
Nidderdale Museum is a local and social history museum in the market town of Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale, one of the Yorkshire Dales, in North Yorkshire, England. The museum is housed in a former workhouse, and is normally open every day from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. from 1 April to 31 October, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. over the winter. There is a small entry charge for adults. Accompanied children are free.
High and Low Bishopside is a civil parish in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It includes the town of Pateley Bridge and the villages of Glasshouses and Wilsill, the southern part of Wath and the hamlets of Blazefield, and Fellbeck. The parish touches Bewerley, Dacre, Eavestone, Fountains Earth, Hartwith cum Winsley, Laverton, Sawley, Stonebeck Down and Warsill. In 2011 the parish had a population of 2,210. There are 39 listed buildings in High and Low Bishopside. The parish's council is called "Pateley Bridge Town Council".
Robert Ackrill was an English journalist, newspaper proprietor, founder of newspapers, printer and writer, working for most of his career in Harrogate, England. During the 19th century he owned six newspapers in the North Riding of Yorkshire via his company Ackrill Newspapers, having founded three of them. Ackrill's descendants and relatives continued to run or be involved with Ackrill newspapers for at least a hundred years, the final incarnation of the company under that name being dissolved in 2020.
The Stray Ferret, known locally as The Ferret, is a daily online newspaper, serving Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham in North Yorkshire, England. It was established in 2020 by Tamsin O'Brien and Chris Bentley, and has a bricks and mortar newsroom and shop front in Cambridge Crescent, Harrogate. This news outlet provides local and political information, and investigations of environmental subjects such as river pollution, air pollution and light pollution. In 2024 the newspaper's online platform changed from free access to subscriber access.
Media related to Borough of Harrogate at Wikimedia Commons