Firefighters have been tackling a major incident in Ripon this evening in which fire has badly damaged three homes in Magdalens Close.

There are no reported casualties.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said a gas leak is believed to have caused the fire.

Crews from Ripon, Harrogate, Northallerton, Boroughbridge, Bedale and Thirsk were summoned to a row of three brick-built terraced houses.

It is understood the fire began around 7pm in the roof void of one of the properties and spread to the two adjoining houses.

Residents of the close watched as firefighters dealt with the blaze and brought it under control.

Police and paramedics were on the scene and a section of Magdalens Road between Princess Road and North Bridge was shut while emergency services handled the incident.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report said:

“The fire spread rapidly to the property located to the left.

“Crews sectorised the fire and used two hose reel jets, four main jets and numerous breathing apparatus sets to tackle the fire.

“A gas leak was located in one of the properties so a gas engineer was requested to attend. Crews brought the fire under control and managed to prevent further spread to the last property.”

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Concerns about the impact on neighbouring residential properties have prompted Ripon councillors to object to plans for a care home development on Stonebridgegate.

As a statutory consultee, the objection will be considered when the application is determined by North Yorkshire Council planners.

The proposed development by Muller Property Group at the T&R Williamson Business Park (pictured), would involve the demolition of existing industrial units and construction of a care home of up to 80 bedrooms, with associated parking and landscaping.

The outline planning application for the 0.61 hectare site, was considered by members at Monday’s full Ripon City Council meeting, where Cllr Julie Ann Martin-Long led the objections.

She said:

“The proposed building will be up to three storeys in height and will dominate neighbouring residential properties, which is unacceptable.

“It will also generate additional traffic close to a busy junction, with Aldi, the police and fire station and Marks & Spencer all nearby.”

The nearby Aldi in Ripon

Councillor Eamon Parkin, said:

“I’m concerned about the impact that a building of this height would have on its neighbours and for that reason I think we should object to it.”

A design, character and access statement prepared by ADG Architects in  support of the application on the North Yorkshire Council planning portal, stated:

“The building is expected to be 2.5 to 3 storeys in height to reflect the surrounding context. The lower ridge height and gable roof would be placed to the north of the site which has neighbouring residential properties.”

The statement added:

“There is a dense tree line to the north, east and west boundaries of the site, these provide a natural screen to the neighbouring properties to increase privacy.

“The trees along the boundary lines also create a buffer to reduce noise from Stonebridgegate and the surrounding highways network.”

In her comments on the proposed development, which can also be found on the planning portal, Anne Sims, North Yorkshire Council’s principal conservation officer said:

“The new building, although set back from the road side, sits much higher than the neighbouring two storey terraces along Stonebridgegate
(within the Conservation Area).

“To improve the design, there should be two storey elements, especially closer to the road and close to the existing two storey terraces and adjacent to the conservation area.”

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A children’s playground at Quarry Moor Park in Ripon will remain closed for the foreseeable future because of ongoing vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

The decision to maintain the closure was taken by councillors in private session at Monday evening’s Ripon City Council meeting and confirmed in a statement on the council’s Facebook page.

It said that the council “regretfully resolved not to reinstate the playground at Quarry Moor at the present time”.

It added:

“Unfortunately the site is being vandalised almost daily. We are working with North Yorkshire Police who are responding to the regular reports of anti-social behaviour when they occur.

“Until we can plan a way forward with our partners that includes measures that impact on the behaviour at the site we are unable to commit funds to the playground.”

The statement added:

“We appreciate that this is caused by a small minority and that it is affecting our residents using the site. We are actively seeking solutions to the issue (and) will provide a further update as soon as possible.”

Quarry Moor is funded by an annual grant from the city council and the budget for 2023-24 is £15,000.

The playground has remained closed since a vandal attack In March and this followed a six-month closure from September 2021 due to a rat infestation which was eradicated after rubbish bins were removed from the site.

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Councillors are calling for damaged roads in Ripon city centre to be resurfaced with tarmac as a matter of urgency.

The principal areas of concern are the four roads around Market Square where block paving has lifted and cracked because of the volume of traffic.

In recent years North Yorkshire Council has carried out temporary repairs by putting tarmac over the worst-affected sections, leaving the surface looking like a patchwork quilt.

Roads around the market are the main concern.

On Friday, city council leader Andrew Williams will tour Ripon with North Yorkshire highways officials to show them where problems exist with cracked and uneven roads and pavements.

At Monday evening’s full council meeting, he said:

“There are many parts of Ripon where repair and renewal is required, but the dangerous state of the roads around Market Square is totally unacceptable for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists and the temporary fixes just don’t work.

“These are the busiest roads in the city centre and comprehensive resurfacing works need to be included in North Yorkshire Highways capital programme as a matter of urgency.”

Cllr Williams’ proposal, which calls on North Yorkshire to make the work a priority, was unanimously supported by fellow councillors.

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The focus was on family fun in the sun as Ripon Theatre Festival’s outdoor performers took centre stage over the weekend.

Yesterday’s bright sunshine brought hundreds of children, along with parents and grandparents to Spa Gardens, where they saw puppets, pirates, a Noah’s Ark show (pictured below) musicians, singers, dancers and many more entertainers.

Among them was Rhubarb Theatre (see main picture), which provided an interactive experience for the audience combining street entertainment with family games, featuring characters inspired by Lewis Carroll’s wonderland creations.

On Saturday, Ripon city centre Market Square, Minster Gardens, The Arcade, North Street and Kirkgate and Westgate, were among the venues for a eclectic mixture of alfresco theatrical performances, while the Flying Dodos and other puppet characters roamed the streets.

The Flying Dodos on North Street

Ripon Arts Hub, the cathedral, Curzon Cinema, the Claro Lounge, Wetherspoon’s Unicorn Hotel, the library and The Little Ripon Bookshop and Workhouse Museum, also hosted indoor festival events.

The Strange Twig pirates in Spa Gardens

Ian Gouge 

At Curzon Cinema, Ripon-based award-winning author and poet Ian Gouge, gave a premiere performance of his dramatic poem Crash while on Market Square, a large crowd gathered for a whole host of acts, including The Giant Balloon Show (pictured below).

Just a hop and a skip away at the cathedral, Ripon City Morris Dancers  attracted a large gathering as did dancers of a different kind when Sarita McDermott and her team of Bollywood-style performers, Bethany, Matthew and Martin, from Jennyruth Workshops, performed in Spa Gardens.

Ripon City Morris Dancers

Sarita McDermott (right) with the Bollywood dancers.

While it was a weekend for enjoyment across the city, the daily hardship of a life in poverty was given a dramatic twist at the Workshouse Museum.

Through interactive displays and presentations, volunteers in period costume told the story of what it was like for some of Ripon’s Victorian forebears.

Volunteers Lindy (left) and Judy showed visitors what wash day in the Workhouse was like for its Victorian inmates

The finale of Ripon’s second theatre festival came yesterday evening with Illyria’s action-packed production of Robin Hood  at Fountains Abbey and as the curtain came down on this year’s event, festival director Katie Scott (pictured below) told the Stray Ferret:

“It has been a great success. Building on last year’s launch we have seen increased ticket sales and hundreds of people attending the free outdoor events and pop up shows.

“This gives us a tremendous platform for next year.”

Festival director Katie Scott

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Following the departure of its director of museums, Helen Thornton, Ripon Museum Trust has begun the search for her successor.

Ms Thornton, who was director for four covid-affected years, has left the heritage sector to take up the post of town clerk for Baildon in West Yorkshire.

The trust, which since 2020, has been awarded financial support totalling more than £500,000 from Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund said in a statement it was seeking a new director “to provide inspiring and collaborative leadership”.

It added the successful candidate would be “a transformational leader” with “proven management and leadership experience, that will enable Ripon Museum Trust to realise their potential to become a museum with a national profile”.

The new director will be involved in shaping the strategic direction and delivery of the The Workhouse, Prison & Police and Old Courthouse museums at a pivotal point in the trust’s 41-year history, amid a development phase bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Richard Taylor, chair of the board of trustees said:

“Ripon Museum Trust is a close-knit community with strong values of fairness, ambition, community, team-work and learning. We are really excited to be recruiting for this role and look forward to welcoming a new director of museums at this important part of our journey.”

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The hot topics will be climate change and a range of environmental issues, when Ripon Together holds its first-ever Green Fair in the city on Sunday June 25.

Running from 10am until 4pm, the event will be held at Ripon Town Hall and on Market Square, where city councillor Jackie Crozier, owner of Little Bird Artisan Markets, has allocated space for a number of environmentally-focused organisations to have stalls.

Ripon Together director David Ingham, said:

“We picked the date to coincide with the market, knowing that several regular stall holders are green businesses and we hope to attract a similar or overlapping audience.”

Ripon Cathedral, the National Trust at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, are also involved in organising the fair.

A key aim of  the event is to raise awareness of the environment in Ripon and the surrounding area and how to help to look after the city’s three rivers, canal, local wildlife and green spaces, through reducing waste, collecting litter and limiting the use of plastics.

In a bid to reduce carbon emissions, there will be a focus on public transport, electric vehicles, walking and cycling more, while looking at how homes and businesses can reduce their energy use and save money.

Advice will be available on retrofit, renewable energy and insulation and visitors will be able to find out how making small changes in their daily lives can make a difference.

Mr Ingham, pointed out:

“We’d like to see what people, and especially young people, are interested in, to give or find them reliable advice and to help to achieve change.

“We are trying to provide information and opportunities and must all work together to reduce carbon emissions, have cleaner air, rivers and seas, warmer and greener homes, save money and help reverse climate change.”

Separately from the Green Fair discussions have been held with local schools about solar projects to reduce their massive energy bills.

Ripon Together has a good range of contacts with people who are involved in many established organisations and is well placed to help make the environment a priority in Ripon.

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 St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church in Ripon has received a £4,000 boost from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (YHCT).

The award, which will go towards the restoration of the three altars at the eastern end of its nave and aisles, comes just weeks after the Grade II* listed building was attacked by vandals who damaged leaded windows.

St Wilfrid’s, in Coltsgate Hill, was built in 1862 and is recognised as one of the finest parish churches in England, featuring ornate reredos screens designed by the renowned  Victorian church architect Edward Pugin.

Parishioner Barrie Price, who chairs the restoration appeal, said:

“We were delighted to receive this grant from the YHCT. The church opened its doors over 160 years ago and continues to be a special place for all who visit.

“Preserving this Yorkshire jewel for future generations is a daunting task, but with the help and support from organisations like to the YHCT, and the fundraising efforts of the local community, we are able to undertake the much-needed restoration works.”

Tom Ramsden, chair of the YHCT said:

“As well as being a place of worship, many of Yorkshire’s churches and chapels provide much needed support services to the local community.

“Many parishes face severe challenges in keeping their buildings open and in good repair, but thanks to the generosity of our friends and donors, we are delighted to be able to help preserve these wonderful historic buildings and help secure their future”.

In summer 2021, St Wilfrid’s reopened following the first phase of a £500,000 restoration, which took two years and was held up by the covid 19 pandemic.

The money for the the work was raised by churchgoers, supported by awards from trusts and boosted by a £75,000 grant from Historic England.

In 2022, YHCT awarded £93,000 to 24 places of worship across Yorkshire. Grants continue to be available for urgent repairs, restoration and maintenance to churches of any Christian denomination, including feasibility studies to help churches develop longer term projects.

Musicians busked in the bright Bank Holiday sunshine in Ripon as performers in many different musical genres attracted extra footfall to the city’s streets.

The Ripon Indie event, organised by independent traders and featuring a host of highly-talented local and regional artists, was supported by Ripon Business Improvement District.

There was a large gathering on Kirkgate, where performers included the rock band Time Machine (main picture) and singer-songwriter Alannah Creed, pictured below.

The day also featured a Little Bird Artisan Market in the city centre which, alongside the musical entertainment and a team of Bollywood-style dancers, brought hundreds of people in to Ripon.

Buskers were strategically placed in Market Square, Westgate, North Street and The Arcade and their music acted as a magnet to those wishing to follow the busking trail.

Popular Ripon performers Lily Worth (above) and Freddie Cleary (below) were among the entertainers who showed the depth of young musical talent that the city boasts.

Yesterday’s event proved a natural follow-on from the successful street party held on Kirkgate on Easter Monday, which ran under the umbrella of the independents’ Totally Locally Campaign backed by Ripon BID.

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