Save Crimple Valley passes the baton on to support Crimple Commons

After more than three decades of community action, Save Crimple Valley has closed. Its remaining funds will now support Crimple Commons, carrying forward a remarkable tradition of protecting and caring for the valley.

On 18 June 2026, former officers of Save Crimple Valley met with us to mark a significant moment in the history of one of Harrogate’s most valued landscapes.

After more than three decades of voluntary action, Save Crimple Valley has formally closed. The decision was a practical one. Like many longstanding unincorporated associations, the group depended upon volunteers willing to take on its officer roles. When new officers could not be found, its members had to consider how best to bring the organisation’s work to a close.

Rather than allow its remaining resources to disperse, the group agreed that its funds should be passed to the team developing Crimple Commons.

The meeting brought together Save Crimple Valley’s former chairman Peter Wrigley and treasurer Paul Cole with George Eglese, Shan Oakes and Bill Rigby, our directors, who have been leading the development of Harrogate Wildbelt and Crimple Commons.

Former members and supporters of Save Crimple Valley will now be invited to remain connected with the landscape and contribute to the next stage of its story.

Save Crimple Valley emerged in the early 1990s, alongside a second organisation, Protect Crimple Valley, in response to development proposals that threatened to transform the open character of the valley.

The late Fred Willis chaired Save Crimple Valley, while Peter Rix chaired Protect Crimple Valley during these formative years. Together, the two groups successfully opposed proposals for a supermarket on the site now occupied by Weetons and plans for the local rugby club to take over the open field opposite, stretching north towards the River Crimple and Almsford Bank.

The two campaigns later came together under the Save Crimple Valley name. Derek Wilkinson served as secretary, Mike Lowsley as vice-chairman and Paul Cole as treasurer. At its height, the group had around 500 members, reflecting the depth of local attachment to the valley.

Its influence extended far beyond any single planning application as Save Crimple Valley became a consistent and informed voice in local planning, responding to proposals, participating in consultations and keeping the importance of the landscape firmly in public view. Council records show Derek Wilkinson representing the group in planning matters in 2005, while Save Crimple Valley was listed as a formal stakeholder in a further council consultation in 2010.

One of the most important outcomes of this wider period of community advocacy was the recognition of Crimple Valley as a Special Landscape Area. First designated in the Local Plan in 2001, the area is valued both for its landscape quality and for the vital buffer it provides between Harrogate and Pannal. Current planning policy continues to recognise its sensitivity to inappropriate development.

The work did not end with the campaigns of the 1990s. Over subsequent decades, speculative housing proposals continued to appear around the valley slopes, particularly near Almsford Bank. Applications were challenged, withdrawn, refused and sometimes resubmitted in altered forms. Save Crimple Valley continued to mobilise objections and maintain public awareness of what was at risk.

The valley that remains today was not preserved by accident but, survives as an open landscape because generations of residents organised, studied plans, wrote letters, attended meetings and refused to accept that development was inevitable.

Crimple Commons builds upon that inheritance while beginning a different kind of work.

The original campaigns were necessarily defensive as they responded to individual proposals as they appeared and made the case for what should not be lost. Crimple Commons seeks to complement that legacy with a positive, long-term vision for the landscape, bringing together community stewardship, nature recovery, water, access and the continued separation of Harrogate and Pannal.

This does not mean that the need for vigilance has disappeared, nor does it diminish the importance of the campaigns that came before. It recognises that lasting protection can also come from developing a shared and ambitious plan for what the valley could become.

Crimple Commons will honour it by carrying its purpose forward. One organisation has closed, but the community’s commitment to Crimple Valley continues.