Children raise awareness of road safety issues affecting Ripon schoolsFour pupils of Holy Trinity School in Ripon are working together to raise awareness of road safety issues on nearby roads.
Kofi, Seth, Arabella and Isla were so concerned about the potential risks posed by inconsiderate, careless and law-breaking motorists, using Church Lane and Trinity Lane, that they decided to take action.
The enterprising foursome, who have the support of their parents, teachers, governors and North Yorkshire Police, were appointed as the school’s first-ever road safety officers.
Illegal parking on Trinity Lane increases the risk for both children and parents. Picture: Adam Kitching
Through contact with the police, a meeting with Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams and use of the Holy Trinity newsletter, they have been sending out messages designed to make life safer for fellow pupils and parents who walk to and from the school each day.
Kofi said:
“Each week in the UK there is an average of one death and 37 people seriously injured while going to school in the mornings or on their way home.”
Seth and Arabella both believe that children and parents on foot are put in danger by people parking illegally or stopping in the middle of the road to drop children off or pick them up.
Isla said:
“We just want people to be aware that they are putting their own children at risk as well as others, by behaving in a selfish way.”
Sue Sanderson, executive head of the Holy Trinity Federation of Schools, which includes the junior school on Church Lane and nursery on Trinity Lane, said:
“In a meeting I had with children they told me that road safety was the issue at the top of their list of concerns and that led to the appointment of our road safety officers, who have shown a great deal of initiative.”
Adam Kitching, who is vice-chair of governors at Holy Trinity and has board responsibility for health and safety, pointed out:
“Currently there is just one patrol at the crossroad between Trinity Lane and Church Lane and he does a tremendous job in looking after children and parents, but beyond that crossing point, we have Holy Trinity and St Wilfrid’s Junior School on Church Lane.
“As it is also a route for students walking to and from Outwood Academy and Ripon Grammar, there are in excess of 600 children, plus parents and grandparents on this stretch of road on each school day and we are concerned about potential accidents.”
Holy Trinity believes that an extra crossing patrol on Trinity Lane, combined with more no parking hatched areas and the introduction of short stay drop-off and pick-up bays, would make the road safer, but in the meantime, the message to all pedestrians is to take care when crossing the road.
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Illegal Migration Bill the hot topic at Ripon meeting this weekThe contentious Illegal Migration Bill announced last week by Home Secretary Suella Braverman will come under the spotlight in Ripon on Thursday.
The bill says it aims to “prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes, by requiring the removal from the United Kingdom of certain persons who enter or arrive in the United Kingdom in breach of immigration control”.
Ms Braverman said the bill “will allow us to stop the boats that are bringing tens of thousands to our shores in flagrant breach of both our laws and the will of the British people”.
But it was described by the Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell as ‘immoral and inept’.
Now it will be discussed at a meeting arranged by Ripon City of Sanctuary.
The organisation, which was established in 2016, is part of the national network of City of Sanctuary groups that promote a culture of welcome for asylum-seekers and refugees.
In an invitation to supporters, chair Nicola David said this week’s meeting would explain what the bill really means. RCOS will also provide an update on work it is doing to help families who have resettled locally.
Ms David said:
“There are now 10 families from the Middle East in Ripon – nine brought by the government, and one by our own community sponsorship project. We continue to work very closely with North Yorkshire County Council on this.
“Our community sponsorship family arrived in July last year and those attending on Thursday evening can find out how they’re doing.
“We also have the money in the bank to bring a second family.”
Linton campaign
Last August RCOS was part of the campaign group which achieved a victory against the Home Office and then Home Secretary Priti Patel, when the government had to abandon its plan to place 1,500 asylum-seekers at Linton-on-Ouse – a village of 700 people just outside the Harrogate district.
Ms David said:
“That was to be the first of a series of horrible new ‘asylum accommodation centres’ but more are coming and we are currently supporting various campaign groups around the country who are fighting to get asylum detention centres shut down, or to stop them from reopening.
“The detainees’ only crime is claiming asylum here and we are working with Asylum Matters, Medical Justice and the Helen Bamber Foundation to challenge the government on clause 101 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which would allow the government do whatever it likes on Crown land, including setting up asylum centres, without consulting with local communities or seeking planning permission.”
In addition to its campaigning activities, RCOS has been working to help asylum-seeking veterinary surgeons to pass their UK ‘conversion’ exams, ensuring their exam fees are waived and providing grants towards the cost of their studies.
The programme also includes clothing collections, engagement with around 15 local schools to help raise a generation of young people who understand refugee issues, matching Ukrainians with hosts, and providing specialist support in some cases.
Ms David added:
“There’s a lot to discuss and I hope that as many people as possible can join us on Thursday, when we will be happy to answer any questions they have.”
The meeting will be held at Thorpe Prebend House, which is behind the cathedral on High St Agnesgate at 7.30pm. Light refreshments are being provided by Ripon Cathedral’s C3 group.
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Former Ripon student receives technical award at Oscars ceremonyFormer Ripon Grammar School student Mark Hills has added an Oscar to the Emmy award that he received last year.
Computer expert Mr Hills and and his colleague Jim Vanns, were rewarded for their work with creative studio Framestore, on the design and engineering of FQ – a technology-based management tool utilised by movie makers.
The pioneering system has been used for the rendering of images that feature in more than 120 films, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Mark Hills pictured at last year’s Emmy Awards.
The development of FQ was recognised at the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards for advancing the art of filmmaking and 42-year-old, Mr Hills, who left RGS in 1999 to study computer science at university, dedicated his Technical Achievement Award to his parents Greta and Peter, who live in Sharow.
Barbara Ford Grant, chair of the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards Committee, pointed out:
“Unlike the Oscars recognising the year in cinema, the Sci-Tech awards are unique in that they cover achievements that can take a decade or more of invention, refinement, engineering, and evolution to be recognised.”
The technical awards were presented ahead of last night’s Oscars in a ceremony held in February at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
Last year Mr Hills won an Emmy award for his involvement in the creation of a ground-breaking audio production system credited with revolutionising the television industry.
The system has been used in the production of innovative soundtracks for hit TV series such as The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, The Flight Attendant and Line of Duty.
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Mayor of Ripon nominated to serve a third term in officeRipon City Council has announced that the Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Sid Hawke, has been nominated to serve a third mayoral term.
He was the city’s mayor in 2008/09 and has now been nominated as mayor elect for 2023-24.
Cllr Hawke’s wife, Linda will accompany him during his year in office as mayoress.
Elected to Ripon City Council in 2002, he represents the Ure Bank Ward on both Ripon City Council and on Harrogate Borough Council.
Cllr Hawke said:
“I am delighted to be nominated by Ripon city councillors in the selection for the position of mayor for the second year running.”
Born and bred in the city, Cllr Hawke is semi-retired and has previously served in the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in Ripon.
The current mayoral year has proved a busy one for the mayor and mayoress, including the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations in June, the mourning of Her Majesty’s death in September and the subsequent proclamation of King Charles III – all of which involved major civic events in Ripon.
The city’s annual mayor making ceremony will take place on May 10 and on May 21. Cllr Hawke will be installed as mayor in a service at Ripon Cathedral.
On becoming mayor for the third time, he will be matching fellow Independent councillors Eamon Parkin and Pauline McHardy, both of whom served three terms in mayoral office.
Cllr Parkin will serve as Cllr Hawke’s deputy.
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Ripon councillors consider judicial review on 1,300-home Clotherholme plan
Ripon City Council is to take legal advice on the merits of seeking a judicial review of Harrogate Borough Council’s handling of the 1,300-home Clotherholme planning application.
The Homes England development on Ministry of Defence land at Claro Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Laver Banks was granted outline approval on February 23 on the casting vote of planning committee chair and Conservative councillor Rebecca Burnett.
This came after votes were tied at six for and six against supporting a recommendation to defer the plans to officers for approval subject to conditions.
At the planning meeting no reference was made by officers to a traffic assessment commissioned by Ripon City Council in 2020, because of fears that additional vehicle movements generated by the barracks scheme would cause permanent gridlock across Ripon.
A subsequent report from the consultant, who carried out the assessment, contained recommendations on a range of mitigation measures that could be taken at key junctions and traffic hotspots to reduce pressure on Ripon’s roads.
In the light of the report, the city council called on Homes England to reduce the number of houses in the development to an initial 800, with the option to seek approval for a further 500 once the traffic impact of the first phase of the scheme had been assessed.
At Monday night’s full Ripon City Council meeting, Independent council leader Andrew Williams said:
“It is clear that our traffic survey and the correspondence that we had with Harrogate Borough Council planners was totally ignored.
“They have ridden roughshod over the wishes of people living in the city, leaving them with a potential problem to deal with for years to come.”
Ripon Liberal Democrat county and city councillor Barbara Brodigan told the meeting:
“I attended the planning committee to speak on behalf of the Ripon Spa Residents Action Group about the concerns we have about traffic, but it appeared to me that this was a done deal.
“The city council’s own traffic assessment wasn’t even raised by officers.”
City councillors unanimously supported a proposal put by Cllr Williams and seconded by Cllr Brodigan, to take initial legal advice on the merits of seeking a judicial review of Harrogate Borough Council’s handling of the planning application.
At the February 23 planning meeting, David Rowlinson, speaking on behalf of Homes England, said:
“We’re not new to this site, we’ve been working on it for five years. We’ve looked at this very thoroughly and worked with North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department to get their on-the-ground views.
“We feel we’ve robustly assessed the impacts and come up with the best solution possible for Ripon.
“North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed there is no defensible reason to refuse the application on highways and transport grounds.”
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Heritage watchdogs disagree over £6m Ripon Cathedral annexHistoric England, the government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment, has said it supports Ripon Cathedral’s £6 million plans to build a two-storey annex on Minster Gardens.
However, the national heritage watchdog’s views about the suitability of the proposed development site to the north of the cathedral are not shared by Ripon Civic Society.
The cathedral chapter submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council in January, seeking permission to construct a standalone two-storey annex on Minster Gardens.
It would include a song school, cafe, shop and the city centre’s first Changing Places toilet for disabled people.
The development has divided opinion, with concerns about the impact on retailers and the removal of 11 trees, including a beech categorised as a veteran tree by the Woodland Trust.
In a letter to Harrogate Borough Council planners, Historic England said:
“Historic England supports the location and design of this proposal, which will make a positive 21st century contribution to Ripon’s wonderful historic environment.”
The letter, which can be viewed on the council’s planning website also states:
“This application is highly sensitive due to the wonderful historic townscape of Ripon, its proximity and relationship to Ripon Cathedral, and from the heritage value of the site itself.
“The proposal would make a positive contribution to the historic environment of Ripon, sitting appropriately in location and design terms with the townscape and cathedral, and beginning to rearticulate the original cathedral precinct. However, the loss of open space and trees would have a minor impact on heritage significance.
“We consider that many elements of the proposal are in line with those parts of the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) within our statutory remit.
“However, the NPPF also advises a need for an appropriate understanding of all heritage impacts before decisions are taken on applications. In this case, the archaeological impact of the proposal is unclear, and this issue needs to be resolved in advance of any planning decision.”
‘Unacceptable’
But Ripon Civic Society took a different view in its submission to the council. It said:
“While we do not disagree with the cathedral’s view that a new annex on the north side of the cathedral will contribute to the sustainable future of the cathedral and enhance the city of Ripon, we consider that siting an annex on Minster Gardens is unacceptable.”
The society added:
“The proposals in the application are unaltered from those we commented on in 2022.
“Ripon Civic Society wrote to the cathedral authorities in July 2022 supporting development on the north side of the Cathedral.
“We did not consider, however, that the proposed siting recognised the significance of Minster Gardens as an open space for the city, as set out in the Ripon Neighbourhood Plan that was agreed by referendum and adopted by Harrogate Borough Council as part of the Harrogate Local Plan.
“We therefore suggested the proper examination of the stone yard land for a redesigned building.”
To create space for the annex, the existing toilet block, outbuildings and a wall would need to be demolished and trees removed.
The civic society said:
“The trees that are proposed to be removed are an important part of the character of the conservation area, which would be severely lessened by their removal and replacement with a large building.
“We consider that a redesigned building in the stone yard would be an acceptable alternative.”
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Demolition completed of subsidence-hit Ripon flatsThe demolition of a block of four empty Ripon homes stricken by subsidence issues has been completed by a team of experts.
The properties at 1, 3 and 5 Bedern Court and 17 Skellgarths were evacuated in October 2020 after being declared unsafe for habitation.
The block was fenced off ready for the start of demolition in early February
Planning permission for their demolition was granted by Harrogate Borough Council in November and Dewsbury-based Hutchinson Demolition & Dismantling Ltd carried out a fortnight of preparatory work before starting to take the block down in early February.
Following successful completion of the task, site manager Ashley Hutchinson, told the Stray Ferret:
“Apart from a couple of days when we couldn’t work because of Storm Otto, everything has run smoothly and to schedule.”
A cherry picker was used so that the demolition team could remove the roof tiles and timbers and demolish the chimney stacks.
Mr Hutchinson added:
“The work was carried out by our team using hand-held tools for the majority of the demolition tasks, with a rubber tracked excavator brought in for the latter stages.”
With the demolition works complete, the final clear up of the site will be carried out over the next couple of days.
Roof tiles, bricks, timber and other materials have been removed for recycling.
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Ripon Theatre Festival looks to build on success of inaugural yearThe Ripon Theatre festival is set to return in 2023 after a successful first year.
The event will run for five nights and four days between June 7 and 11 and will feature both indoor and outdoor performances at venues across the city.
Festival director Katie Scott, told the Stray Ferret:
“We are aiming to build on the incredible first year response, which saw audiences of more than 2,500 people across four days.
“Another key aim is to make the festival as affordable and accessible as possible with a wide range of free entertainment popping up at locations across the city centre. Pop-up venues include the Market Place, Cathedral, Little Ripon Bookshop and Curzon Cinema as well as walkabout acts touring the streets of the city.”
Street performances proved popular at the 2022 festival
New this year is a dedicated family day in Ripon Spa Gardens on Sunday June 11, where everything will be free to watch. Events will include puppet shows, open-air theatre, community performances and hands-on activities.
Ms Scott, pointed out:
“As well as the weekend of pop up theatre and street entertainment, there will be a host of ticketed events at the wonderful studio space at Ripon Arts Hub, and a swashbuckling Robin Hood coming to Fountains Abbey with his merry men, courtesy of Illyria.
Fountains Abbey will provide a dramatic setting for Illyria’s performance of Robin Hood.
“The opening night, Wednesday June 7, will see young people leading the way as the festival works with the YMCA in promoting up-and-coming local theatre company Forget about the Dog with their intriguing show Happy Place.”
She added:
“The festival is also working with charity Ripon Dementia Forward to provide a sensory theatre show brought directly to two local and friendly community spaces.”
“Community performers are key to the weekend once again. Rehearsals start soon for the community cabaret event and Festival organisers also encourage any theatre groups, dance troupes, comedy acts or storytellers to get in touch if they’d like to take part in the pop-up events across the weekend.”
The festival is being supported by businesses who are sponsoring and helping keep the it affordable. The main sponsor is Wolseley UK and other corporate sponsors include Specsavers, Elstob & Elstob, Econ Engineering, Valentino’s Ristorante and The Arcade Ripon.
Event details are available at www.ripontheatrefestival.org or follow on Facebook @ripontheatrefestival
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Historic Ripon clock to undergo specialist repair
Almost 125 years after being unveiled, it’s time for specialist repair work on Ripon’s most prominent and, of late, least reliable civic clock.
The hands on the four-faced timepiece housed in the ornate Victoria Clock Tower at the busy junction of North Road, Palace Road and Princess Road, have stood still on either 12 noon or 12 midnight for many weeks.
But Ripon city councillor and former mayor Eamon Parkin has good news.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“The pendulum of the clock will be undergoing specialist repair and we hope to have it back working again as soon as possible.”
The clock tower was commissioned to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and in the following June, the classically styled stone tower — paid for by sisters Frances and Constance Cross of Coney Garth — was gifted by them to the city of Ripon in a ceremonial civic opening event attended by a huge crowd.
The grade II listed building passed into the ownership of Harrogate Borough Council with the reorganisation of local government in 1974, but will change hands once more when the new North Yorkshire unitary authority comes into being on April 1.
In recent years the clock has required attention because of its erratic performance, which at times have seen it running fast or slow on numerous occasions.
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Group estimates 1,000 Ripon children are in need of swimming lessonsA group that unsuccessfully lobbied Harrogate Borough Council in a bid to have a learner pool built in Ripon estimates that up to 1,000 of the city’s children have yet to be taught how to swim.
In 2018, before planning permission was granted for construction of the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, Ripon Pool Action Group (RPAG) called for a learner pool to be included in the multi-million pound development at Dallamires Lane.
Though that call was rejected, the group continues to highlight the need for families in Ripon to have public facilities available that are close at hand and affordable.
At the February meeting of Ripon City Council, RPAG secretary Tim Tribe and Andrea McAuslan presented the case for a learner pool to be included in any future plans that the new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council, may have for the development of leisure facilities in the city.
Mr Tribe said:
“We recognise that there are currently serious pressures on public finances. We are not asking for a learner pool to be built now, but we want to ensure that the new unitary authority is properly briefed on this situation.
“Ripon is the only place of its size in North Yorkshire with no learner pool. Thirsk, Tadcaster, Northallerton, Stokesley and Skipton all have separate pools and we ask how far do you think our children should travel to learn such an important life skill, when we live in an area surrounded by water?”
Mr Tribe added:
“We carried out a survey using Survey Monkey and this showed that there are circa 1,000 children in Ripon in need of swimming lessons.”
Because of the lack of a public learner pool in Ripon, Andrea and Ian McAuslan have been taking their five-year-old twins to Thirsk.
Ms McAuslan said:
“We have been making the 22-mile round trip and are fortunate that we can afford to do this, but many other families are not so lucky.
“Seeing how our children reacted when they realised that they could go in the little pool at Thirsk was a real eye opener. It has been great to see their confidence grow as they learn to swim while they play in the shallow water.”
Ms McAuslan, who is also chair of the junior section of the Ripon-based NYP TriStars, triathlon club, added:
“Quite apart from the need to teach children to swim in a city that has three rivers, a canal and other areas of water, it is a skill that is fundamental to opening up other avenues for them.”