MOVES to bring a popular tourist attraction into public ownership has been given a kickstart.
Mother Shipton's Cave, in Knaresborough, is currently on the market for £625,000 - raising fears it could be lost to a private buyer.
Knaresborough Town Council has given overwhelming backing to arrange talks with Harrogate Borough Council and Knaresborough Chamber of Trade in a bid to pursue the question of taking it into public ownership. But with a budget of only £50,000 a year, that is far beyond the reach of Knaresborough Town Council, which led to their decision to join forces with the chamber and borough council, in a bid to move the idea forward.
The cave is said to be the birthplace of the country's most famous prophetess, Mother Shipton, in 1488.
It is also reputed to be Britain's oldest tourist attraction, opening in 1630
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