The first in a new series of live music in Kirkby Malzeard will take place on Saturday evening.

The Kirkby Live initiative aims to boost the village economy as well as increase community spirit.

This weekend’s opening event at the Mechanics Institute sees York-based Hyde Family Jam,  who put their own spin on popular hits remixed as ‘folk gone wrong’, take centre stage.

Volunteer and Kirkby parish councillor Jane Aksut, who is organising the event with fellow councillor and volunteer Richard Hughes, said:

“The aim is to build Kirkby Malzeard’s sense of ‘place’ as somewhere people want to live, work, play and invest.

“Kirkby Live is a new part of this relentless drive to make our area a destination and to draw in visitors from outside to support and invest in local business.

“This new venture sees live music hitting Kirkby Malzeard in 2023 with the aim of improving community spirit in this rural area and also benefitting local businesses and community organisations.”

As part of the objective to attract people from the wider area into the village on Saturday, a  coach from Ripon has been arranged, enabling visitors to leave their cars at home and have a drink at the event.

It will leave the city’s bus station at 6.30 pm and will return to Ripon after the concert, leaving Kirkby Malzeard at 10.30 pm.

More information about booking tickets for the coach and the concert can be found by clicking here.

The Hyde Family Jam features vocals, guitar, accordion, violin and double bass. Cllr Hughes said:

“The band is showing their infectious enthusiasm also comes with a huge heart – they are making a great effort to support our rural area by agreeing to play in a much smaller venue than usual, and offering lots of time and advice to help our aim of making Kirkby Malzeard a music venue.”

He added:

“The Kirkby Malzeard Business and Community Group, which is supporting Kirkby Live, focuses on networking to bring together community cohesion and also to promote local businesses and services. This event is a brilliant example of networking, with local businesses, community groups and even the Hyde Family Jam themselves all benefitting from new contacts.”

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Ripon’s St Cecilia Orchestra returns to Holy Trinity Church this month with a programme featuring music for dance, drama and romance.

Following the success of their Rachmaninov festival weekend with pianist Peter Donohoe in October, the orchestra is looking forward to a change of pace with this varied programme of chamber orchestra gems.

The first concert of the year will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday, January 28.

Conductor Xenophon Kelsey said 

“It’s pretty rare for us to do a concert without a soloist.  This is a glorious opportunity for all the players to develop the sense that, in a smaller, chamber-sized orchestra, everyone is a soloist – at least some of the time!

“We all need to listen to each other, react to musical shapes and ideas and not simply ‘follow the conductor.’ That is what makes it such a delight to conduct concerts like this and to really feel you are part of the team, not just the boss at the front.”

The concert will open with Richard Strauss’ Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments, a single-movement piece completed when the composer was just 17 years old and the first work to gain him recognition as a composer outside his native environment.

The serenade makes strong use of the French horn, having  in the ensemble line-up – perhaps evidence of his father’s musical influence (Franz Strauss was principal horn player of the Munich Court Orchestra).

Next on the programme, is Sibelius’ Pelléas and Mélisande suite, written in response to a commission by the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki as incidental music for Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1892 play of the same name.

The play inhabits a medieval world of dream and fantasy and tells of Pelléas’ love for Mélisande, who is unhappily married to his brother, Golaud. The story has inspired several more musical works, including an opera by Debussy.

After the interval the orchestra will play Bartók’s energetic Romanian Folk Dances in the chamber orchestra version. Originally written for piano, and based on tunes that would have been played on violin or a shepherd’s flute, the work consist of six short movements that should according to the composer take just four minutes and three seconds to perform.

The concert concludes with Mozart’s rarely-played symphony 25. In the key of G minor, the symphony is written in the sturm und drang style, characterised by emotional extremes and sudden changes in tempo and dynamics – a piece sure to leave the audience feeling energised!

Tickets for the concert, priced at £15 for adults and free for under 18s, can be obtained online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/st-cecilia, from the Little Ripon Bookshop and on the door, or can be reserved by calling 01423 531062.

The most significant development in hundreds of years for Ripon Cathedral has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council’s (HBC) planning department. 

If planning consent is granted, it will see the construction of a two-storey standalone building to the north of the  Grade I listed cathedral, which would include a refectory, song school and the city centre’s first Changing Places toilet, providing access for disabled people.

The £6m scheme also involves demolition of the existing toilet block on the site, along with outbuildings and a stone wall.

Documents  on HBC’s planning portal show that the development on Minster Gardens involves the removal of 11 trees – one of which was assigned by the council as having ‘veteran status.’

In its planning statement in support of the application, Rose Consulting, says:

“The proposal does involve the removal of eleven trees, including a tree to which HBC have assigned veteran status but with compensatory planting on a ratio of five new trees to each one removed.

“This number of lost trees has been reduced to a minimum as a result of discussions with the council.”

At its December meeting, where a pre-application presentation was made on the cathedral’s proposed development, Ripon city councillors gave their support in principle, with the caveat that they could not agree to any future closure of Minster Road – which runs past the ancient building.

The application submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, does not include plans for the closure of Minster Road  to through traffic – though it is a longer-term ambition

Speaking at that meeting, leader of the council Andrew Williams, said:

“We will be looking at the finer detail when the planning application is submitted, but the city council supports the general principle of this development, with the exception of the proposed closure of Minster Road, which we cannot agree with because diverting traffic elsewhere would cause many problems.”

In its submission to HBC planners, Ripon Cathedral Chapter points out:

“Ultimately it is hoped that closure of Minster Road to through traffic may one day arise – for which there is growing political and community consensus but is a benefit which is not deliverable within this application, as it is not in Chapter’s gift.”

The cathedral, which celebrated its 1,350th anniversary last year, has a national and international reputation which has seen visitors grow year on year to in excess of 100,000 in 2022.

Ripon City Council has described a planning application for a 66-bed care home at Ripon City AFC’s Mallorie Park ground as ‘premature’

At its full January meeting, members voted unanimously to reject plans by Leeds-based care company LNT Care Developments. However, the final decision will be made by Harrogate Borough Council.

Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the meeting:

“While we want to see the football club thrive and are happy to meet with them and work with them, this application is premature because the football club has not confirmed exactly where it will be relocating to.”

Fellow councillors shared that view, but said that they would like to extend an invitation to the club, which has played at Mallorie Park for more than 100 years, to present its proposals to the city council.

 An artist’s impression of how the care home would look at Mallorie Park.

In October, club secretary and former player Daniel Metcalfe told the Stray Ferret:

“A shortlist of potential locations has been drawn up, but the move will only take place when we have a new site with all necessary planning and other approvals in place.”

The Stray Ferret has attempted to clarify with the club whether a new site has been agreed, but no response had been received at the time of publication.

If LNT’s plans are approved by Harrogate Borough Council, the Mallorie Park ground would be transformed by the construction of a two-storey home specialising in general and dementia care. The proposed development includes 25 parking spaces.

A former head boy of Ripon Grammar School won a share of £1,250 for scoring zero after he and his grandmother took part in Pointless, the BBC quiz show.

The episode in which Nick Edwards and 82-year-old Christine Robson hit the jackpot was broadcast yesterday for a second time after previously being screened in May.

Those who have missed the programme can watch it on BBC iPlayer and see the pair coming up with the winning answer to the question: “Name any past winner of the Spanish, French or Italian Cup.”

Mr Edwards, who formerly lived in Copt Hewick, works for the sustainability team of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in Leeds, where he runs the circular economy programme, which aims to reduce waste and prevent non-biodegradable items from going to landfill.

Speaking about the experience of visiting London’s Elstree Studios and taking part in the show hosted by Alexander Armstrong with assistance from Richard Osman, he said:

“My greatest success might be winning Pointless. More importantly than the show itself was the fact that I did it with my grandma.”

And what do they plan to do with their winnings?

Mr Edwards said:

“We agreed to spend it on a big family meal out, but we haven’t been able to get everyone in one place yet. It will happen at some point, I’ve promised them!”

And finally, what was the answer to the footballing question that foxed the 100 people on the Pointless panel?

It was Real Zaragoza – winner of the Spanish Cup, the Copa del Rey, on six occasions.

Ripon’s parish precept, which is charged to council tax payers in the city, is being frozen at its current level for the third year in succession.

It means Ripon residents living in a Band D property will pay a parish precept of £70.77 for the financial year 2023/24. People in Bands A to C properties will pay less and those in Bands E to H will pay more.

Final council tax bills for the year ahead are calculated by adding the parish precept to the amounts also charged by the new North Yorkshire Council and the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. The latter two have yet to finalise their amounts.

Ripon City Council unanimously approved its draft budget for 2023-2024 at its January full meeting after independent council leader Andrew Williams told members:

“Because of the increased number of new houses built in Ripon, there are more properties over which the precept will be charged and we are able to raise a levy of £420,000 at no extra cost to the charge payer.

“This is an increase from the £411,000 raised in the last financial year and will enable us to fund, among other things, the programme of public and civic events throughout the year, further improvements  to the city’s Christmas lights infrastructure and refurbishment of Hugh Ripley Hall to increase its earnings potential.”

In the new financial year that comes into effect from April, monies will also be earmarked from reserves to pay for any professional advice required arising from double devolution and negotiations on matters including the transfer of assets such as Ripon Town Hall, Hugh Ripley Hall and Market Square, to the city council

Cllr Williams said:

“These are very difficult times with the cost of living crisis putting families under greater financial pressure through increased food, fuel, mortgage, rent and other costs.

“Faced with these circumstances we thought it only right and proper to freeze the precept charge for the coming financial year.”

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More than 500 bags of food and gifts were distributed to families across the Harrogate district after an annual Christmas appeal run by the Salvation Army in Ripon.

Each year the church and charity takes part in the nationwide Salvation Army appeal, which provides food and festive gifts anonymously to people recommended by agencies in the community.

Church leader Pat Clark said:

“This year, with the cost of living crisis, we faced a tsunami of need and we would like to say a big thank you on behalf of all the families supported by the appeal.”

Approximately 250 bags of gifts and 300 bags of food were provided, with each family member receiving a main present, chocolates and several small gifts. The food bags contained basic non-perishable foodstuffs and festive goods – mince pies, cake and puddings.

Ms Clark said:

“The huge effort was only made possible through the work of volunteer packers and sorters, donations from the public and other churches , schools and businesses.

“Planning for next Christmas is already underway, as arrangements have to be made to store cans and packets of food ready for the huge demand in December.”

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• Wildflower planting programme launched at Ripon nature reserve
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The Skell Valley Project is inviting people to help restore wildlife habitats at Ripon’s Hell Wath nature reserve.

The £2.5 million project aims to provide a sustainable future for 12 miles of the River Skell through Dallowgill Moor and Ripon an on to the vale of York.

Throughout January, the project team will be working with the Friends of Hell Wath and Harrogate Borough Council to carry out habitat improvements by restoring areas of grassland and continuing to remove areas of scrub.

The areas for clearance have been selected with the aim of creating a rich environment for a wide range of animal and plant species.

The conservation work is part of the Friends’ management plan for the site developed in liaison with the four-year Skell project, which is led by the National Trust and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

On Saturday January 14, members of the community can find out more about the wildflower planting programme and how they can become involved by meeting at the Ripon City Panthers clubhouse at Hell Wath, where a drop-in session will be held between 10am and 3pm.

Following the public event, scrub clearance will continue throughout the week with various volunteer groups. Information boards and maps throughout the site are being put in place to provide details of what’s happening.

Red Admiral is one variety of butterfly playing a key role in pollination at Hell Wath. Picture: Ripon Photographic Society

Hell Wath is a designated local nature reserve important for its grassland and contains species such as the common spotted orchid and adder’s-tongue fern.

Work so far has helped wildflowers recover and rare bee orchids have reappeared in key areas. This month’s work will ensure these wildflowers are not swamped by the encroaching scrub and woodland, which will create more feeding opportunities for pollinating insects.

The project’s area ranger Gabby Crisp said:

“We’d love the local community to come and give Hell Wath a hand by joining us on Saturday January 14 at a drop-in practical session we’ll be holding on site.

“We’ll be hand-cutting some scrub to allow space for the grassland and the wildlife it supports to thrive. It’ll be a great way to kick off the new year with some fresh air and a chance to burn off some Christmas calories too!’.

Jeremy Dunford, secretary of the Friends, added:

“Growing the wildflower population of the large grassland meadows is a key part of the management plan for Hell Wath. This will increase the range and number of butterflies and other insects in this area which will in turn see a larger variety of birds and small mammals at the nature reserve.

“Those unable to make the public event can still get involved in helping nature thrive in this special place from the comfort of home. Friends of Hell Wath are asking the local community to help by cultivating wildflower plugs to plant on Hell Wath in the autumn.”

For a £5 donation, the Friends will provide a pack of wildflower seeds, a tray of 12 biodegradable seeds pots, peat free compost to fill the trays and an instruction leaflet for cultivating the seeds provided.

• The first AGM to be held by the Friends of Hell Wath since it gained charitable status will be held at South Lodge, from 7pm on January 19. All are welcome to attend, although voting is open only to members of the charity. For more information click here.

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When hornblower Allison Clark (pictured below) set the watch on Market Square at 9pm, only a handful of people were present, but by the stroke of midnight Ripon’s New Year’s Eve revellers were singing and dancing in the rain.

Yesterday’s heavy showers that threatened to turn the evening of celebration into a damp squib, relented by 11pm and the crowds poured in to enjoy the free music that heralded in 2023.

Mayor Councillor Sid Hawke, who joined with his wife and Mayoress Linda, Ripon city councillors and other civic dignitaries in a torchlit procession from the cathedral to Market Square, led the countdown to midnight, flanked by the Bishop of Leeds The Rt. Revd Nick Baines and the Dean of Ripon The Very Revd John Dobson.

The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Sid Hawke, pictured with The Bishop of Leeds The Rt Revd Nick Baines and The Dean of Ripon The Very Revd John Dobson

The Bishop and Dean John,  were among the clergy who had taken part in the Watchnight Service at the cathedral that preceded the procession to Market Square, where a blessing was given.

Throughout the evening the tribute acts Exelle, Beyond Faith and Parklife, braved the elements to perform a broad repertoire of songs, ranging from the chart-topping numbers of girl bands to  George Michael classics and the Britpop tunes of the 1990s.

The Weather Girls’ 1979 hit It’s Raining Men, was among the songs performed by Exelle (pictured above) while George Michael lookalike and soundalike Beyond Faith (pictured below) also wowed the crowd.

Last night’s concert organised by Ripon City Council, saw the curtain come down on an epic year that saw the city’s ancient square stage historic events including celebrations of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June to the mourning of her death in September and the subsequent proclamation of Charles III as King.

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