The Ripon YMCA charity shop, which closed at short notice in September, will reopen in time for the Christmas trading period,

Courtney Addison, the newly-appointed manager at the Marshall Way retail park store, told the Stray Ferret this morning:

“We are working hard pricing up goods and stocking shelves and rails ahead of reopening next week..”

The shop windows are being prepared with Christmas displays

Ms Addison, who has transferred over from the YMCA’s Boroughbridge shop, where she worked for four years, has been creating Christmas displays with her deputy Steph Nejzer Hewitt.

She pointed out:

“We have lots of new stock and some lovely festive items and look forward to welcoming back our customers and attracting some new ones as well.”

The store has a vacancy for another deputy manager and is looking for additional volunteers. Anybody wanting to find out more can contact 01765  690664.

At the time of its closing in September, a message on the shop’s Facebook page, said:

“We sincerely apologise for the temporary closure of this store. This is due to property circumstances beyond our control.”

The Ripon shop, which is part of a portfolio of 100-plus YMCA stores in England and Wales managed by the charity’s national retail team in London, opened in February in the unit formerly occupied by Argos.

Main picture: The store is being readied for reopening

Campaigners fighting the proposed felling of a veteran beech and 10 other mature trees to make way for Ripon Cathedral’s planned £6m annex will hold a peaceful protest at Minster Gardens on Saturday.

The proposed development would include a song school, community space, toilets, a refectory and shop, which it says will attract more visitors to the city.

But the potential loss of trees has attracted opposition, and protestors will make their feelings known between 12 noon and 1pm on Saturday.

Ripon resident Jenni Holman, who has raised a petition containing almost 1,800 names, which has been submitted to planners at North Yorkshire Council, told the Stray Ferret:

“Over the past eight months we have been raising awareness of the cathedral’s plans, which involve the loss of the trees on what is currently public green open space in the ownership of North Yorkshire Council.

“We do not object to the cathedral having the additional facilities that it needs to prosper, but there are more suitable and less sensitive locations, including land and buildings owned by the church,  which could be developed to meet its needs.”

She added:

“North Yorkshire Police have been informed that we will be holding our peaceful protest on Minster Gardens from 12 noon and we will be happy to speak to anybody, whether for or against the annex development , to explain why we have raised the petition.”

Jenni Holman (front, centre) pictured at the May protest on Minster Gardens

A previous protest was held at the gardens in May, when the number of people who signed the petition was approaching 500.

At that time, the Stray Ferret asked the cathedral for comment about the objection being made and received this response:

“The planning application is going through its due process, as such we don’t respond to individual comments or objections during this process.

“What I can say is that we have investigated all available options within the cathedral estate, and none of the sites were suitable for the new building. This was the opinion of a range of external experts who specialise in heritage buildings and conservation as well as architects and project management experts. The needs of all internal and external users of the proposed new building cannot be met by using any other existing chapter property and all cathedral property is currently being used to its maximum capacity.

“As we’ve previously said, the building will be an asset to the people of the city, providing much needed facilities, including a safe space for our choristers to rehearse that is fully accessible, along with public toilet facilities (including a new Changing Places toilet, suitable for those who struggle to use standard accessible toilets).

“While we understand that some people may see the loss of 11 trees as too heavy a price to pay, the development will tidy up an unloved part of the city, increase the amount of public open space and enhance the existing much-valued memorial garden. The plans we’ve submitted also include the planting of 14 new trees around the cathedral, along with a further 300 trees on land made available by a supporter of the project and will see an overall increase in biodiversity across the area.”

Main picture: Campaigners are fighting to save this veteran beech and ten other mature trees

There was laughter and tears at St Michael and all Angels’ Church in Littlethorpe near Ripon this morning, as family and friends gathered to celebrate the remarkable life of Sylvia Grice, who died last month at the age of 90.

Every seat in the village church, where she worshipped for 31 years, was taken, as warm thanks were given through prayer, poetry and hymns for decades of dedicated service to the community, in which she taught an estimated 250,000 local people to swim. The family invited the Stray Ferret to attend.

In addition to teaching a skill for lifelong enjoyment and one which can be used to save the lives of others, she was a stalwart supporter of charity, raising funds for the church, Saint Michael’s Hospice and Yorkshire Air Ambulance, to name but a few, through her famous garden parties, where she sold a wide array of items that she baked.

Today’s funeral service was led by the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson (pictured),

In the eulogy given by the Revd Canon Michael Glanville-Smith, he said:

“It’s difficult to know where to start when talking about a woman who touched so many lives in so many  ways.”

But with help from Sylvia’s daughters Alison and Helen, he was able find out and share at least one anecdote that many attending the service may not have heard before.

He pointed out that when she received her MBE for services to swimming in 2011, from the then Prince of Wales:

“She told the future King Charles about the benefits of swimming and even offered him a lesson if he ever ventured north!”

In 2019, the former Barnardo’s girl, who spent her early school years living at Red House — the charity’s children’s home on Palace Road — was awarded the Freedom of the City of Ripon for her services to the community.

From humble beginnings, she became one of Ripon’s best known and loved citizens and Dean John reflected on Sylvia’s life-long achievements, when he said:

“We have lost somebody who was very precious.”

Read more:

• Death of a ‘remarkable and inspirational’ woman
• Littlethorpe legend celebrates her 90th birthday

Market Place East

“Fury at plans to dig up stones of historic market square”

“A beautiful market town is being ruined with the council ripping up the historic square to lay tarmac.”

“It’s unfortunate that the two papers appear to have got hold of the wrong end of the stick and given their readers a mistaken impression of what is actually planned.

“The resurfacing with tarmac, which is going to take place next October, is designed to ensure a uniformly smooth surface for the roads on either side of the square, making them safe for use by pedestrians, drivers and cyclists.”

“Part of Ripon City Council’s double devolution bid is to take control of Market Square, so that we can ensure that the block sets on the square, which were put in place 20 years ago, are properly maintained at this historic location.”

A silent vigil was held on Ripon Market Square this morning at which a group of campaigners called for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The situation in Palestine has deteriorated since October 7, when Hamas invaded Israeli villages over the border from Gaza and killed an estimated 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages. It is estimated that more than 12,000 Palestinians – the majority of them women and children – have died in Israeli attacks since then.

Vigil organiser Andy Croft (pictured centre in our photograph) told the Stray Ferret:

“We are not taking sides and are carrying the flags of both Israel and Palestine, as we call on the UK government and opposition to support the growing call for an immediate ceasefire.

“Too many people have already died and it is heartbreaking to hear about the civilian casualties and see television pictures of tiny babies having to be moved from intensive care incubators because the hospital that they were in no longer has the electricity to power them.”

Mr Croft added:

“We have decided to hold a weekly half hour silent vigil by the obelisk at 10am each Monday until there is a ceasefire and are holding it in Ripon so that local residents who want to join the ceasefire call don’t need to travel to Leeds or York.

“Before organising the event, we sought and received approval from North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Council and also liaised with Ripon City Council.”

Read more:

• Rocky Ripon roads to undergo £630,000 resurfacing works
• Unstable riverside footpath in Ripon is closed

Showers didn’t take the sparkle off Ripon’s Christmas lights switch on, with Santa, reindeer, free fairground rides for children and tribute acts all adding to  yesterday afternoon’s family entertainment organised by Ripon City Council.

With rain relenting, a gathering  of residents and visitors, mostly made up of family groups, poured onto Market Square and by the time the lights were switched on at 5pm, more than 2,000 people were present to welcome in the 2023 festive season.

Illuminating the city centre

The Christmas tree and lit up sleigh decoration on Market Place South

The Merry Christmas decoration on the entry to Kirkgate

Kirkgate lights on the approach to the cathedral

The display on Westgate

Fishergate

North Street

Entertainment for children

The three children’s fairground rides were in full swing all afternoon and into the evening

Santa took Christmas present orders from the children, while his reindeer took a rest

Musical entertainment

These children were full of early Christmas joy as they danced to girl band songs performed by the tribute act Xelle

The tribute act Boyz Beyond had the crowd rocking with classic songs from chart-topping boy bands

A riverside footpath in Ripon has been closed  for public safety after sections of supporting stonework collapsed into the fast-running Skell.

The stretch of path between Iron Bridge on Bondgate and the bridge at Bondgate Green, was deemed unsafe by North Yorkshire Council highways engineers, who assessed the damage this morning.

Part of the collapsed section of footpath

They were alerted to the collapse by Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, who told the Stray Ferret:

“This is a popular riverside route for walkers and people exercising their dogs.

“With parts of the path in a perilous condition, the decision to close was taken until necessary repair works can be carried out. In the meantime, I would urge that members of the public obey the closure signs and do not put themselves at risk, particularly at this time when the River Skell is running so high and fast.”

A member of the highways team who assessed photographs taken at a number of locations along the path, said:

“Looking at the images it is the right decision to close the unstable footway until the stone can be retrieved from the river when levels are lower and the repairs can be undertaken.”

The path will be under regular monitoring and remain closed until the extent of repair work required has been established.

Main picture: Stonework that was supporting the footpath can be seen in the water

Ripon’s festive season gets into full swing on Saturday, with the switch on of the city’s Christmas lights, combined with an afternoon of family entertainment.

The illuminations will come on at 5pm and before then, Market Square will be a hive of activity from 1pm onwards with Santa and his reindeer, free fairground rides and live music between 3pm and 6pm.

The event is being organised by the city council, with support from Ripon Business Improvement District.

Festive lights on Fishergate are ready for Saturday evening’s city-wide switch on

Enhancements have been made to the city council’s decorative displays thanks to £4,000 of funding from the BID and the £7,000 raised through the Christmas Lights Appeal, run by Councillor Eamon Parkin during his three consecutive years in office as Mayor of Ripon between May 2019 and May 2022

The year-on-year improvements ensure that the city centre and adjoining streets will be lit with festive lights throughout the season.

For the second year running, the BID has paid for the production and distribution of 25,000 brochures, promoting Ripon as an attractive retail destination for both residents and  visitors.

The brochure, which is being delivered to homes in the city and surrounding areas, highlights a strong mix of independent traders, while providing details about the events that will be happening in Ripon, between now and New Year’s Eve.

Main picture: Santa and his reindeer are due to arrive at 1pm

---

Read more:

• Guide to Christmas markets in the Harrogate district
• Kirkby Malzeard accident victim launches Christmas appeal for Leeds hospital

---

 

Residents of a Ripon street that is a favourite destination for driving instructors have raised concerns about vehicle emissions affecting their health.

Marjorie Sanderson and Geoff Haldenby (pictured), who are neighbours  on South Grange Road, took their plea for assistance to Ripon City Council and councillors agreed to take action, in a bid to stop drivers parking near their houses and those of other residents with car engines running.

Mr Haldenby, who suffers from the lung condition pleural plaques, told the Stray Ferret:

“In the three years that I have lived here, I’ve had five bouts of pneumonia and that made me think that there may be a correlation between my worsening health and  exposure to exhaust fumes.”

He added:

“Having spoken with Marjorie and other neighbours who are also concerned about the impact that emissions have on health, we decided to seek support from the city council and we were very encouraged by the response that we received.”

At Monday’s full council meeting,  Ms Sanderson, pointed out:

“We have instances of driving instructors teaching other instructors, who park up on the road for long periods with their engines running, either to keep their cars cool in summer or warm in winter.

“This is a regular occurrence and with engine idling an offence under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, we want to see the law enforced.”

After approaches were made to North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe and North Yorkshire Council, Ms Sanderson and Mr Haldenby, contacted  the city council and both spoke at Monday’s meeting.

Council leader Andrew Williams, said he was aware that many driving instructors use  South Grange Road and other neighbouring streets on their training routes.

It was unanimously agreed that he would raise the issue of engine idling with both North Yorkshire Council and North Yorkshire Police and request that enforcement action is taken when an offence is committed.

The Royal College of Physicians estimate that 40,000 deaths per year in the UK are linked to air pollution, and engine idling contributes to this, because vehicles give off higher emissions when stationary than when they are moving.

Ripon will discover later this week if a £630,000 road resurfacing scheme will be included in North Yorkshire Council’s capital funding programme for delivery next year.

City councillors have been calling for many years for the sets of paving blocks on Market Place East and Market Place West, which have become damaged and uneven, to be removed and replaced with a tarmac surface.

At last night’s full city council meeting, leader Andrew Williams, told members:

“The North Yorkshire highways team is preparing designs in anticipation of allocated funds to resurface areas of the road network surrounding Market Square.

“It is being considered for funding as part of the wider capital funding programme and if approved will see a scheme delivered next October.”

Tarmac patches have been put in place on some of the worst affected areas of the city centre roads.

Cllr Williams, who represents the Minster and Moorside division on North Yorkshire Council and is a member of the the Conservative and Independent Group, added:

“I’ve been in regular communication with the highways team about the proposed scheme and the process is going to take a little longer than hoped for and will cost more than initially anticipated.

“This is due to the fact that site investigations carried out by highways engineers, showed that the sub core under Market Place East is sand and every time it rains the road surface moves.”

The need to put new foundations in place before the new tarmac surface can be laid has seen the projected cost for the scheme rise from £500,000 to £630.000.

North Yorkshire Council has confirmed that in preparation for the proposed scheme, necessary site investigations have already started and will commence further later this month.

This will involve road closures on separate days of Market Place East and Market Place West and a traffic management plan associated with the works will be communicated to the local stakeholders and the public, once dates are finalised with the contractors.

Both Market Place East (main picture) and Market Place West will be resurfaced next autumn if the scheme receives the go-ahead.