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Sept
Public consultation could be held on Ripon street pedestrianisation plans
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A public consultation could be held on proposals to pedestrianise one of Ripon’s historic city centre streets during the daytime and summer evenings.
A petition signed by 868 people is calling on North Yorkshire Council to make progress on the long-discussed pedestrianisation of Kirkgate, which runs between the city centre and Ripon Cathedral.
Campaigners want timed pedestrianisation using automatic rising bollards, with traffic restricted between 10am and 5pm and until 9pm during the summer.
They say the change would create a safer and more welcoming area where people could walk, shop and spend time, while supporting local businesses.
The petition will be considered by North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon area committee next week.
Ripon councillor Andrew Williams said the petition had been raised by local residents after North Yorkshire Council declined to carry out a consultation exercise on how seasonal pedestrianisation might be achieved.
However, he acknowledged there were significant practical difficulties.
There are numerous complications to pedestrianising Kirkgate and it’s not that straightforward.
There are residential properties whose right of access is through Kirkgate, which makes it very difficult legally.
The only way you could really introduce pedestrianisation would be with a rising and falling bollard, and that then raises issues around cost and maintenance. So it has never been straightforward to achieve.
Previous requests
Council officers have raised similar concerns.
Kirkgate is already classed as a pedestrian zone where parking is prohibited and vehicles are only permitted to enter if they have a destination or business on the street.
Previous requests for further pedestrianisation were considered in 2019 and again in 2025/26 but were not progressed because of practical constraints.
One difficulty cited involves maintaining access to homes at Court Terrace.
Officers say one potential solution involving electronic bollards would require part of Kirkgate to become two-way, but the road is considered too narrow for this to operate safely.
The street’s historic setting provides another complication.
Cllr Andrew Williams
Conservation area
Kirkgate lies within Ripon’s conservation area and the buffer zone of the Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey World Heritage Site, meaning automatic bollards would also have to satisfy heritage and planning considerations.
Cllr Williams said he understood campaigners hoped pedestrianisation could allow businesses to provide outdoor seating.
But he added:
“You would still have to maintain clear vehicular access at all times, both for residents who need access to their properties and in the event that an emergency vehicle needed to reach a property.”
Council officers say around five metres of carriageway would have to remain clear for emergency vehicles, while businesses wanting outdoor seating would need pavement licences and would have to remove furniture when the road reopened to traffic.
Views heard
Despite the complications, Cllr Williams said he would recommend councillors seek a wider consultation.
“I’ll be recommending that the area committee asks the highways committee to undertake the consultation exercise that the city council has previously requested,” he said.
“A full public consultation would enable everybody’s views to be heard, rather than simply those who are campaigning for pedestrianisation.”
The Skipton and Ripon area committee will consider how to respond to the petition when it meets on Thursday next week.
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