Harrogate in Bloom

Stray Defence Association's Anniversary Phonebox

The Stray Defence Association was offered the red telephone box, which was situated on the Stray near Otley Road and in a very sorry, dilapidated state, in January 2023.

The telephone box was ‘uplifted’ by the specialist renovation company early on the morning of the 16th March 2023. The old position on the Stray adjacent to Otley Road has been made safe, restored and reseeded to return it to Stray land.

Thanks to a very generous benefactor the box has subsequently been completely renovated, restored to its iconic scarlet and the panels engraved and prepared with the history of Harrogate’s wonderful Stray before being moved to its new position on the edge of West Park Stray.

Here, on the 12th May 2023, the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Stray Defence Association, the SDA committee and a group of SDA members, young and old, together with invited guests from Harrogate in Bloom and the Harrogate Civic Society gathered together to officially open the box. With two young enthusiasts pulling the green ribbon bow to signal this.

it is the Stray Defence Association’s hope that it will become a valued part of the West Park street scene and an intriguing and iconic information source for both local people and visitors to Harrogate