The site of a former Ripon petrol station and convenience store that has been derelict for decades, has been tidied up 11 months after city councillors called for enforcement action.

The defunct Express petrol station on Skellbank, which has been empty for more than 20 years, is located on the tourist route to Fountains Abbey and diagonally across the road from Hugh Ripley Hall — named in honour of Ripon’s first mayor.

In early 2021 Harrogate Borough Council planning enforcement officers instructed the owner to tidy the site, cut back vegetation and leave it in an acceptable manner prior to any further development.

Last November, Ripon councillors called for further action to smarten up the area, which remained in an overgrown state.

The overgrown site pictured in November 2022.

At a full city council meeting last November, Cllr Stuart Flatley’s request for the now abolished Harrogate Borough Council to serve a Section 215 enforcement notice on the site owner was unanimously supported, after he said:

“This area is on the route to the Fountains Abbey world heritage site and has been in this unacceptable condition for many years and we can’t let this continue.”

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Section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 gives local planning authorities the power to take steps requiring land be tidied up when its condition adversely affects the amenity of the area.

If it appears that the amenity of part of their area is being adversely affected by the condition of neighbouring land and buildings, they may serve a notice on the owner requiring the situation be remedied.

Ripon Disability Forum is arranging free training for local businesses, voluntary organisations and councils aimed at making the city more accessible.

The training, at Community House on Allhallowgate, is being provided by disability consultants Nimbus Disability. It will take place from 9.30am to 2pm on October 26.

Nimbus created The Access Card, which is an ID card for disabled people that indicates what their legal rights might be and gives businesses an indication of the support they need to provide.

RDF trustee Jeremy Dunford, who is a wheelchair user, said:

“The Purple Pound, which refers to the spending power of people with a disability, is estimated to be worth £274 billion per year to the UK economy, so it is in the interests of businesses to ensure that their premises are as accessible as possible for those with limited mobility.

“However, it’s not just about clients and customers, it’s is also about employment opportunities, information sharing/presentation and technology.

“It is also about developing the best accessible practise by overcoming barriers that can be overcome and sharing open information when a barrier cannot be overcome for example, when it is not possible to provide ramped access to a listed building.”

With 25 places available at Community House, the training is being offered on a first come, first served basis to businesses or organisations that operate in, or serve Ripon and its surrounding area. Attendance via Zoom can also be arranged.

Bookings should be made via ripondisabilityforum@gmail.com or the forum’s facebook page.

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A £3.5 million scheme to stabilise the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon has been halted because of new suspected land movement.

Groundwork began in June following the discovery of a “void” beneath the former leisure centre building in the sinkhole-prone area.

Members have had to use a temporary gym in the car park and attend group classes at Hugh Ripley Hall in the city centre while remediation work takes place at the old building.

The new building, which includes a swimming pool, sauna and steam room has remained open.

The new building on the site remains open.

Work was due to finish in spring next year but the latest discovery may jeopardise that — and spark fresh questions about the wisdom of choosing the site and continuing to spend money stabilising the land despite sinkhole fears.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council if work had been halted after noticing a lack of activity in recent weeks.

Jo Ireland, the council’s assistant director for culture and leisure, said:

“Our contractors have temporarily paused groundworks at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre as a precautionary measure while they investigate and assess signs of movement that have appeared in the internal blockwork of the existing building.

“A specialist engineer has advised the movement is predominantly aesthetic with no grounds for concern over the safety of the building.

“We will be installing a monitoring system on site in the next few days to detect any further movement that may occur. This system will give us the data we need to allow us to restart work later this month.

“We would only need to pause work again should the monitoring system detect additional significant movement, at which point further assessment of the situation would take place.”

‘Throwing good money after bad’

In October last year Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, who also represents Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire Council, said it was time to stop “throwing good money after bad” and and “look for a suitable location for a new leisure centre to be built on sound land”.

He accused the now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council, which took the decision to build on the site, of “blindly and belligerently pouring money into propping up a centre that is nearly 30 years old and there is no guarantee that more funding won’t be needed after remediation works begin”.

Cllr Williams added:

“These works would take the total spending on this project to £18 million – some £8 million above the original budget – and they can’t continue ploughing money into this site, with its known history of ground stability issues, including a sinkhole that opened up on the leisure centre car park in 2018.”

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Ripon City Council has cleared an important hurdle in its double devolution bid to take control of city assets.

North Yorkshire Council invited town and parish councils to submit expressions of interest to run local services in November last year.

It was part of the Conservative-controlled council’s double devolution agenda which pledges to let local people take control of local assets.

The council said it would choose up to six locations this autumn to put forward full business cases. Final decisions are expected in spring next year before assets are transferred to successful bidders later in the year.

This afternoon Ripon City Council was notified by council assistant chief executive Rachel Joyce the evaluation board proposed to to set up individual project teams to work with Ripon and Selby.

The news is likely to come as a blow for other towns, including Knaresborough, which also expressed interest. Harrogate was unable to bid because it does not have a town council.

Ms Joyce said in correspondence with the city council:

“Two expressions of interest that were considered, submitted by Ripon Town(City) Council and Selby Town Council; were both ambitious and multi-faceted, with a number of service areas involved in the evaluation of their expressions of interest.”

Ripon Town Hall

The Ripon devolution bid sought management of Ripon Town Hall, Market Place and Car Park, public toilets within the city and the Wakeman’s House listed building.

Ms Joyce said:

“Whilst the bids were considered to be showing the level of ambition for their areas that was originally envisaged for the double devolution project they highlighted that the evaluation criteria was not sophisticated enough to manage a wide range of services within its scoring mechanisms.

“It is therefore proposed by the evaluation board that individual project teams are set up to work with Ripon City Council and Selby Town Council to bring forward double devolution proposals to be considered by the executive in these two areas recognising that these may require more support.”

The news has been welcomed by Cllr Andrew Williams, the Independent leader of Ripon City Council, who also represents the Minster and Moorside division on North Yorkshire Council.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We have cleared an important hurdle and that’s very good news for Ripon as we seek greater say over our own destiny.

“We put forward a very strong double devolution bid and North Yorkshire Council has shown that it is willing to listen to us and work with us — in considerable contrast to the relationship that we had over almost 50 years with Harrogate Borough Council.”

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One of Ripon’s largest and most prominent pubs will reopen under new management tomorrow afternoon (Saturday), following its sudden closure in April.

The South Lodge doors will be open again from 4pm and at 9pm there will be free live music.

Ahead of the pub’s reopening, the Stray Ferret was invited for a sneak peek and the opportunity to meet new licensee Terry Flanagan and his daughter Sinead, to find out about plans for the Harrogate Road hostelry.

The pub’s wonky sign will be fixed shortly

Mr Flanagan, told the Stray Ferret:

“The minute I saw this pub was available, I just knew I had to have it. It’s in a great residential location and has bags of potential.”

With experience built over almost 30 years in the hospitality sector across Yorkshire, beginning in the mid 1990s when he was landlord of the Queen’s Head in Kirkby Malzeard, he added:

“I go on my gut instincts and could see that South Lodge has all of the ingredients needed for success.

“My aim is to put it right back at the heart of the community, welcoming families with children during the daytime and catering for adults in the evenings, with free musical entertainment at weekends, Thursday quiz nights and pool nights on Wednesdays.”

Ms Flanagan, also an experienced publican, is providing administrative support for the South Lodge reopening.

Sinead Flanagan

She said:

“The food offer, including Sunday carvery, will be up and running by the end of the month and we also have plans for the Christmas period.”

Re-decoration is nearing completion and the pub, which stands in its own grounds and has a beer garden, will have its sign fixed shortly.

South Lodge is located by the busy A61 on the route of the 36 bus service between Ripon and Harrogate.

Further information is available via the pub’s Facebook page.

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An animal welfare charity is closing its Ripon shop today (Friday) due to declining trade.

This  proved the tipping point for the Blue Cross shop, which has operated for five years from a large corner unit in The Arcade.

All remaining stock is being sold off for £2 or less, ahead of this afternoon’s closure..

David Palmer, Blue Cross head of retail operations, told the Stray Ferret:

“We were coming up to the end of our lease and after considerable thought we have sadly taken the difficult decision to close our shop in Ripon due to a decrease in the levels of trade and low profitability.

“We’d like to thank the staff and volunteers for all their hard work in the shop and pass on our thanks to everyone in Ripon who has supported Blue Cross over the five years.

He added:

“We are constantly looking at all of our 55 shops across the country to ensure we’re raising as many funds as possible for the thousands of sick, injured and homeless pets we help every year.

“We have shops in Northallerton and Thirsk where we would be delighted to receive donations and people can also support our charity by volunteering with us.”

The former Caffe Tempo Unit (pictured right) has been vacant since late July.

In July, Caffe Tempo, which had traded for six years in the unit neighbouring the Blue Cross shop, closed because of spiralling ingredient and overhead costs, that wiped out its profitability.

The former Caffe Tempo and two further units  in The Arcade remain vacant.

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Leaseholders at Bedern Court in Ripon, where four apartments were demolished this year, have voted to seek planning permission for a replacement block.

It follows reports from engineers which showed that no evidence of sinkhole activity was found on the site.

The 29 leaseholders, who are shareholders in Bedern Court Ltd, which owns the freehold of the residential properties, took the decision at their annual general meeting.

They did so after receiving a report from Harrogate-based engineering practice Hill Cannon, which included findings from a geotechnical investigator.

A thorough inspection of the foundations of the stricken block was made possible after it was demolished and the investigation carried out by Mugen Geo Ltd, of Hebden Bridge, concluded “there is no evidence of a sinkhole”.

Large cracks were visible on the properties before they were demolished

Surveyor Richard Willis, who is the managing agent for Bedern Court, said:

“It was discovered that the reinforced concrete raft under the block had not been installed properly and subsequently failed, causing extensive structural cracking which necessitated the evacuation and demolition of the building.

“All other properties on the site, where the foundations were properly installed, are unaffected and with sinkhole activity ruled out, a planning application for a replacement block will now be brought forward.”

The red brick residential development close to Ripon Cathedral was built in 1986 and in October 2020, the apartments at 1,3 and 5 Bedern Court and 17 Skellgarths, were evacuated after being deemed unsafe for human habitation.

The damage caused to the block was blamed over a number of years on sinkhole activity in the area.

Controlled demolition of the four properties was carried out over seven weeks and completed in early March.

The 2023 Ripon Poetry Festival, which came to a close yesterday evening, proved a success with sell-out performances and a record entry for the annual poetry competition.

The final event, held at the Ripon Arts Hub on Allhallowgate, was an evening with theatre legend Barrie Rutter, the actor and director who founded Northern Broadsides to champion acting talent from the north.

This year’s 11-day festival also featured Internationally-famous children’s author Michael Rosen, who made a return to the city, having helped to launch the first Ripon Poetry Festival in 2017.

Festival curator Andy Cross told the Stray Ferret:

“It has been another tremendous year. We’ve had sell-out events from the outset and more than 300 entries for the poetry competition, which is a new record.”

Mr Croft (pictured above, centre) was among the panel of three judges that included Ripon Theatre Festival director Katie Scott and last year’s competition winner Simon Strickland (pictured left) who selected the poem, Newborn, written by Edmund Thomson Jones as the 2023 winning entry.

His entry, which was inspired by the birth of his daughter, now features alongside other entries in the 142-page festival anthology titled Creative Juices.

A separate anthology including entries from children, has also been published.

The festival, which  is the biggest of its kind in Yorkshire saw performances from poets Hadley-James Hoyles, Alison Carr, Robert Powell and Sarah Wimbush.

In addition to workshops for children and adults there was open mic evening organised by Write-on Ripon and Ripon Writers Group.

A review of An Audience with Barrie Rutter is available here.

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“The restoration will enable us to reveal classical features, such as stunning stained glass windows and ornate tiles dating back to the elegant Edwardian era, that have been covered up since 1936 when the site was remodelled to include a public swimming pool.

“These features are part of Ripon’s heritage and will be freely accessible for people to see in the pump room area, which will be open for the community to visit.”

The proposed north (top) and west elevations.

“We have carried out a great deal of research into the history of the spa to produce a scheme that re-establishes the seamless link that it previously had with Spa Gardens.

“The new buildings have been designed to be sympathetic to, and respectful of, their historic surroundings.”

Rhe distinctive terracota cladding.

The Dean of Ripon has said plans to remove trees from Minster Gardens to make way for a new £6 million cathedral building presented a “moral dilemma”.

The Very Revd. John Dobson presented the cathedral’s annual review on Saturday.

It addressed plans to fell 11 trees, including a beech listed by the Woodland Trust as having veteran status, to create space for a two-storey building on the gardens to the north of the ancient building.

The proposed annex development, which includes a song school, refectory, accessible toilets, shop and additional storage space, is part of the Ripon Cathedral Renewed project which aims to safeguard the future of the cathedral.

The Dean said all possible options for the location of the annex had been considered.

In a leaflet given to parishioners and members of the public who attended on Saturday, Dean John said:

“We regret the need to fell 11 trees and are sympathetic to public concern. There is a moral dilemma though which requires balancing this with urgent needs and undeniable benefits.”

“Providing 21st century facilities is not only essential, but will help to attract more visitors to the cathedral and thereby to the city.”

He added:

“Ripon Cathedral attracts 100,000 visitors per year, in addition to pilgrims, worshippers and concert goers. Experts predict that this project will result in an increase in numbers of between 30% and 50% — good news for the local economy and local businesses.”

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The Dean acknowledged not everybody was in favour of the development and said:

“Some people here today will disagree with us about the felling of trees. We respect those people,  but we disagree with them.”

Jenni Holman, who has raised a petition signed by 1,400 people opposing the removal of trees to make way for the annex, said:

“The loss of mature trees and impact on the wildlife that depend upon them for habitat is totally unacceptable.

“This is not about a difference of opinions, it’s something that we say is just wrong.”

As part of its mitigation strategy, the cathedral proposes to plant 300 native trees on land near Studley, but fellow objector Pat Waterfall questioned:

“How will the planting of trees outside the city mitigate for the huge carbon footprint of the new building?