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12
Aug
Is Ripon’s sunken car finally set to be raised from its watery grave?
It was the Christmas present Ripon didn’t want — not a partridge in a pear tree, but a car in the River Ure.
On December 24 last year, a Ford Fiesta was found in the river on the outskirts of the city.
How it got there, and who it belongs to, is a mystery but 231 days later, the engine — and every other part of the vehicle — remains flooded.
The car, last spotted bobbing around the river in Sharow, has become not only an eyesore, but also a symbol of petty, buck-passing bureaucracy as nobody appears willing to take responsibility for its removal.
Now the patience of Riponians is wearing thin.
The Stray Ferret reported in June that the Environment Agency, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Council had all wiped their hands of it.
The Environment Agency, a non-departmental public body responsible for dealing with river pollution, said the vehicle was “not posing a significant flood or pollution risk” and that the riparian owner was responsible.
Ripon City Council, incredulous at the notion that a submerged car wasn’t deemed to be a pollution risk, or that a landowner would pay to remove a vehicle that keeps moving around in the river, wrote back reiterating its demand for action.
Its mood wasn’t helped by the Environment Agency referring to clerk Sally Taylor as Sally Ure.
A breakthrough?
The city council’s persistence appeared to pay off when the Environment Agency responded in an email, seen by the Stray Ferret, which said:
We have investigated this matter both from a flood management risk and a pollution risk and have concluded that the vehicle does not currently pose either a floor risk or a pollution risk. As such, we have spoken with North Yorkshire County Council who have confirmed that they are responsible for the removal of the abandoned vehicle as a fly-tipped item.
We will continue to work with the council on this matter as they pursue a solution.
Matter resolved? Not quite. The saga took another twist when we asked North Yorkshire Council to confirm it would remove the car.
A spokesperson replied:
“We have liaised with the Environment Agency to make sure they are aware of the issue. The relevant landowner will be responsible for the car’s safe removal.”
Asked to confirm the Fiesta was North Yorkshire Council’s responsibility, as stated in its email to Ripon City Council, an Environment Agency spokesperson replied:
"We are aware of a car in the River Ure and the vehicle is not currently posing a significant flood or pollution risk. We are continuing to work in partnership with North Yorkshire Council and Ripon council to find a suitable resolution to the issue."
The response, like the vehicle, appears to be stuck.
The Stray Ferret understand Ripon City Council remains hopeful of a breakthrough after months spent rattling cages.
But until somebody reverses its position, the car appears destined to remain at the bottom of the Ure.
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