Roads running around the four quarters of Ripon’s ancient Market Square have been branded a ‘disgrace’ and ‘not fit for purpose.’

The problem lies in block paving, which replaced a tarmac surface that previously surrounded the square.

Traffic, including heavy goods vehicles and Transdev’s double deck 36 bus service, have to use the circulatory route.

A patched-up section of Market Place East

Weight of traffic, which is increasing as new housing schemes bring more vehicles into the city centre, is adding to the problem, as the blocks are regularly coming out of place or being damaged.

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With Market Place East – now resembling a patchwork quilt, as  sections of tarmac fill gaps where the surface has sunk – Ripon City Council is calling for an end to the Ripon’s bumpy ride and a return of tarmac, which councillors considered a more suitable and serviceable surface.

Councillors Stuart Martin and Mike Chambers, who are Ripon’s representatives on North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) agreed that the time is right to call for the highway authority to act.

Cllr Martin, said:

“I have raised the matter with the highways department. The Market Place East and West roads are a disgrace and not fit for purpose.”

At Ripon City Council’s  virtual full council meeting, members voted unanimously to call on NYCC to replace the block paving with tarmac.

Council leader, Councillor Andrew Williams, said:

“When the work is done, we can ask for the contractors to work in the evening, to minimise disruption to the city centre.”

To avoid disruption to Christmas trade, it was agreed that tarmac patches on affected areas, would be an acceptable temporary solution.

Hopes are high that community collaboration in Nidderdale can see welcoming hands extended to a refugee family.

Organisations created in towns, villages and cities across the UK have successfully taken part in a government-backed scheme to re-settle refugees.

Now Nidderdale Community Welcome is following in their footsteps and learning from their experiences.

Catholic Care Leeds has agreed to be the principal backer of the initiative, which involves churches of different denominations in Nidderdale.

However, the Rev Alastair Ferneley, vicar of Dacre with Hartwith and Darley with Thornthwaite, told the Stray Ferret:

“The churches have a role to play, but Nidderdale Community Welcome wants to engage with people of all religions and those of no religion at all.

“Our aim is to bring together all of the necessary skills and talents in this area for the initiative to take off.”

Nidderdale, with its rolling hills, could become home for a refugee family

Rev Alastair is part of a group working alongside Peter Wright, a long-time supporter of causes that help refugees.

Peter, who lives in Ramsgill, is organising a public meeting via Zoom on November 18, which will be open to anybody who wishes to become involved in Nidderdale Community Welcome.

At the meeting, Sue Parsons, community sponsorship coordinator for Catholic Care, will explain how community sponsorship works and there will be opportunities for questions.

Peter said:

“There are currently approximately 80 million displaced people around the world, of which 26 million are refugees. The government initially agreed for up to 10,000 to be resettled in the UK through integration into local communities and this is Nidderdale’s opportunity to support the programme.”

He added:

“We are at the stage of creating the infrastructure required to move forward.”

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Community sponsorship organisations have to prepare everything that might be needed for families to become self-sufficient members of their new community, as required in detailed plans set out by the Home Office.

This includes safeguarding, learning English, applying for relevant benefits, accessing medical help, schools, transport, finding work, and having support from translators.

To obtain refugee status the families have already been closely vetted, entitling them to the same help and welfare as anyone else living in the UK. The community group needs to raise at least £9,000 to ensure additional needs are met.

The group has to have either charitable status or a partnership with an existing charity, such as Catholic Care Leeds, which takes ultimate responsibility for the agreement with the Home Office and provides experience, governance and safeguarding training and support.

Anybody wanting to take part in the November 18 meeting is asked to contact wrightpandh@gmail.com or ring 01423 755619 for further details.

A severely sight impaired man, who lives in the Bondgate area of Ripon, says that poorly maintained pavements have virtually made him a ‘prisoner in his own home.’

Graham Wilkey, has suffered progressively deteriorating eyesight since childhood and uses a white stick when he goes out.

However, following the coronarvirus lockdown, that kept him at home for months, his ventures onto the street have been limited and he told the Stray Ferret:

“The first time I went out on my own, my stick kept getting stuck in the gaps on the pavement near my home.”

Mr Wilkey, added:

“Rather than going for a walk, it felt like I was having to tackle an obstacle course and that affected my confidence, because of the danger of falling and hurting myself.

“I daren’t go out on my own and  feel that I am virtually a prisoner in my own home.”

One of the many cracked and uneven paving slabs on Bondgate

On the rare occasions that he does go out for an exercise walk, or into Ripon city centre, he needs to have his wife Julie with him as he cannot rely solely on his white stick as an aid to enable safe movement.

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Ripon City Council leader, Councillor Andrew Williams, pointed out:

“Mr Wilkey is not the only person with a disability or mobility issues to have raised concerns about the state of our pavements and kerbs in both the Bondgate and Bondgate Bridge area, which seem to be particularly bad.

“It’s not just the poor maintenance, but the adverse camber in some parts, which also poses difficulties for people with electric wheelchairs, or other mobility aids.”

Because of the concerns raised, Ripon City Council has agreed to call for remedial action from North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC).

Councillors, who attended a virtual full council meeting, voted unanimously to contact NYCC asking the  highways department to make repairs to the pavement and adjustments to the camber in the Bondgate and Bondgate Bridge area.

Councillor Pauline McHardy, told the meeting that one of her elderly relatives had fallen and injured herself on Bondgate Bridge because of its uneven surface.

She added:

“The situation is getting worse and worse and urgent action is required.”

Ripon’s largest-ever display of Christmas lights and decorations will be turned on on the evening of Saturday November 14.

Ripon City Council agreed to the switch-on arrangements this week after an update from council leader Andrew Williams.

Cllr Williams said North Yorkshire County Council had carried out the necessary adjustments to street lighting around the city to accommodate three miles of decorations.

This will take in Ripon’s main retail core and extend as far north as the Victoria clock tower on North Street – a principal route into Ripon.

The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Eamon Parkin at the Victoria Clock Tower junction, where Christmas lights will welcome visitors

Cllr Williams, told the Stray Ferret:

“For the benefit of traders and residents, we would like to have the extended display turned on as soon as possible after Remembrance Sunday (November 8).

“This will give time for the superb displays put in place by the Ripon Community Poppy Project to be taken down.”

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The council has approved £65,000 of additional spending on the Christmas decorations.

The major extension, which now takes in side streets including Allhallowgate, Bedern Bank and Skellbank, ensures lights are in place on all gateways into the city centre, while also providing a circuit around a mixture of retail and residential streets.

Funding for the scheme is coming from the council’s events budget, which had originally been intended to support a programme of community events throughout the year in Ripon.

These included the 75th anniversary celebrations for VE and VJ Day, and the St Wilfrid’s Day procession, that had to be either cancelled or scaled back because of the coronavirus crisis and social distancing restrictions.

Councillors, who unanimously supported the switch on plans, hope that the extended lights will provide an end of year boost for retailers, by attracting greater footfall.

The Mayor of Ripon, councillor Eamon Parkin, said:

“The covid pandemic has made this a very gloomy year for many people and we hope that the lights display will give everybody a lift by adding to the attraction of the city over the festive period.”

Extensive subsidence has caused the evacuation of four properties in a Ripon housing development.

The problem is believed to be caused by sinkholes in the area.

It was deemed so severe that owners of two of the properties in Bedern Court were advised by tenancy management company Joplings to tell tenants they had to leave for their own safety.

Mat Pritchard, whose 81-year-old father Norman was living in 5 Bedern Court, had to rapidly make arrangements for him to move out.

Tenants at the other properties, 1 and 3 Bedern Court and 17 Skellgarths, which is within the scheme, have also had to move out at very short notice.

Mr Pritchard is chairperson for Bedern Court Ltd, which is a non-profit company controlled by leaseholders and owners.

It manages the leaseholds and freeholds for the 29-unit brick-built block, which was built in 1986.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“The block has now been in effect, partially condemned for human habitation, with numbers 3 and 5 worst affected and issues also affecting the neighbouring  properties at 1 Bedern Court and 17 Skellgarths.”

Mr Pritchard said:

“Joplings told BCL that a recent geo-technical and building site investigation had returned very concerning results and they believed that flats 3 and 5 were no longer safely habitable.”

Jane and Mat Pritchard are pictured at Bedern Court, where their flat is deemed unsafe because of major subsidence issues.

He added:

“Our priority was the safety of the tenants after large internal and external cracks opened up. Because of the visible shift of the building it was also necessary to evacuate the two adjoining properties.”

The block is within the shadow of Ripon Cathedral and alongside one of the main routes into the city centre.

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An adjacent block of flats built after the Bedern Court development was subsequently demolished and Peacock’s Passage, which runs between the two sites, has clear signs of subsidence.

BCL believe that sinkholes in the area are the likely cause of the subsidence, but claims dating back to 2009 lodged with underwriters Aviva and subsequently QBE, have been turned down by both insurers.

Mr Pritchard said:

“In the urgent situation we find ourselves, we have lodged a further claim with QBE.

“We have also contacted our MP Julian Smith and Ripon City Council seeking any help or advice they can give us and we will continue to ask for cooperation from the owners of neighbouring sites.”

Ripon City Council has unanimously rejected a transport report commissioned by Homes England for the proposed 1,300-home Ripon Barracks development.

The report in support of the development came under heavy fire at Monday’s virtual full council meeting.

In the longest debate of Monday evening, the consultants’ findings were described as ‘flawed’

Council leader Andrew Williams said:

“The report fails to address core issues that local residents and the city council have raised.”

Cllr Williams said the council supported the principle of developing the former army bases, but added:

“A great deal more needs to be done, especially with regard to addressing the questions about the capacity of major junctions in the city.

“With such a flawed report, it is impossible for us to support the outline planning application for this huge scheme.”

The Ripon Barracks site

Councillor Mike Chambers, who is also a district and county councillor, agreed a number of key transport matters needed to be addressed.

He seconded Cllr Williams’ motion for a letter to be sent  to Harrogate Borough Council planners, calling for resolution of outstanding issues before outline planning can be approved.

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Both he and Cllr Williams met last week with David Walpole, a traffic consultant appointed by the city council to look at the impact of the Clotherholme scheme on the the feeder road network and the city as a whole.

One issue that featured in the Walpole report was the amount of traffic generated by a new primary school in the development.

Cllr Williams said the report for Homes England had not taken account of the fact that 132 places at the school will be provided for children living ‘off-site’ in other parts of Ripon, creating traffic movements that had not been accounted for in the overall assessment of mitigation measures that would need to be taken to alleviate pressure on the road network.

Councillor Pauline McHardy told the meeting:

“This is the biggest single development ever seen in Ripon and its size has consequences, not just for the immediate area, but the whole of the city for years to come.

“Traffic movements to and from the site will impact on everybody and we have a duty to ensure that the developers provide the required road infrastructure and don’t cut corners.”

In the run up to this year’s Remembrance Day, almost 40,000 knitted poppies have appeared around Harrogate and Ripon.

Between 25,000 and 30,000 poppies can be seen at prime locations throughout Ripon, after people involved in the Ripon Community Poppy Project spent thousands of hours making the stunning displays.

Many of the poppies were put in place over the weekend. The cascading display on the walls of the town hall (below), was installed with help from a Ripon fire station crew.

The ones seen in Harrogate town centre were donated to the Poppy Appeal campaign last year.

They were put up this morning by a small socially distanced group including Harrogate Mayor Cllr Stuart Martin.

Fiona Burks, of independent business Yarn Etc helped to coordinate the effort, and will be offering poppies to businesses for their window displays.

Cllr Stuart Martin said:

“The comments we’ve had since putting them up this morning are just tremendous. People are so pleased that we’re making an effort for Remembrance Day and you can’t help but smile when you see them.”

Cllr Martin is encouraging people to commemorate Remembrance Day on November 11 by observing two minutes of silence from their doorstep, and placing poppies in windows.

In Ripon … 

Cascading display down Ripon’s town hall.

The entrance to Spa Gardens.

Volunteers in Ripon fitting the knitted poppies to the railings along Kirkgate.

Along the shopping street of Kirkgate.

Spa Park. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin

Along the railings outside the Wakeman’s House.

Ripon bus station. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin

In Harrogate … 

Across from Harrogate war memorial. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin

Along the railings outside of Bettys cafe in Harrogate. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin

On the corner of Cambridge Street, Harrogate. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin.

The Ripon branch of the Royal British Legion has received a £1,000 donation from the city council.

In a year when fundraising initiatives for the Poppy Appeal have been scaled back, Jeet Bahadur Sahi, chair of the Legion’s Ripon branch, said it welcomed the donation “with open arms”.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We greatly appreciate this support from the council, as our selling of poppies this year is necessarily having to be on a much smaller scale than in normal years.”

The money is from the council’s events budget. Council leader Andrew Williams, said:

“We decided that the money we had set aside for the Remembrance Sunday service, which cannot go ahead, should be given to the Royal British Legion.”

Mr Sahi, who served as a Gurkha for 22 years and has been chair of the Royal British Legion Ripon branch since 2013, said the coronavirus crisis prevented the Army Cadets, scouts and Air Force Cadets from collecting on the streets this year and there would be no stall on the market.

The appeal has, in recent years, raised up to £20,000 but this year’s fundraising efforts will rely heavily on people buying poppies from the city’s supermarkets.

Cllr Eamon Parkin, Mayor of Ripon.

Although fundraising activities have been disrupted, acts of remembrance will still be held in a safe and limited way.

At 11am on Saturday, October 31, standard bearers will be at the Royal British Legion garden of remembrance, which opened next to Ripon Cathedral in 2018 after a successful fundraising campaign headed by Mr Sahi and supported by Econ Engineering.

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After the ground is blessed by clergy from the cathedral, members of the public will be able to place small wooden crosses near the plinth.

Cllr Parkin said:

“I hope people will be as generous as possible when buying their poppy in this difficult year for all charities.”

This year, the Ripon Community Poppy Project, run by local residents Hazel Barker, Carol Dunkley and Cllr Stuart Martin, will again see knitted poppies put on display at prime locations in the city, in the run up to Remembrance Sunday and a few days beyond.

A senior officer, with responsibility for policing in Ripon, has reassured people the city does not have a major problem with gangs after a mother expressed concerns.

The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret she and other parents feared Ripon was witnessing an increase in gangs, violence and intimidation.

There have also been recent incidents of vandalism, including the breaking of windows in the city centre and damage caused to the surface of a children’s playground in Grove Lane.

The mother said:

“The impression that I and other mothers I meet have is that there is a growing gang culture, which links into drug taking and dealing.

“It can be intimidating seeing groups of youths, some on bikes, congregating in parts of the city late at night and we are concerned that some might be carrying knives. We fear that somebody is going to be hurt and believe that something needs to be done.”

Inspector Steve Breen, (pictured above) who presented a report to Harrogate Borough Council in March on actions taken by North Yorkshire Police to tackle knife crime, said he wanted to assuage concerns and introduce a sense of proportion.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We have essentially eradicated knife crime in Ripon through proactive use of stop and search tactics and intelligence-led disruption activity, leading to the imprisonment of some key individuals.”

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He added

“This problem existed within a small group of drug users and dealers across the district and did not impinge on innocent members of the public. There is no problem with knife crime in Ripon.”

Regarding the vandalism that temporarily closed the children’s playground, Insp Breen said:

“I reinforce the message that parents need to know where their children are, who they are with, and what they are up to.

“I urge the public to report issues they are concerned about via 101 or 999 in an emergency.”

“We are active in suppressing antisocial behaviour through home visits to problem individuals, the issuing of cease and desist letters, and working with schools, social workers, youth charities and other partners to engage and divert young people from nuisance activity.”

Two cultural organisations in Ripon have welcomed ‘lifeline’ government funding totalling more than £170,000 this week.

Ripon Museum Trust was awarded £117,500 and Ripon Amateur Operatic Society received £54,339 from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.

A total of 1,385 organisations across the country received funding.

Helen Thornton, director of the trust said it was “absolutely delighted”, adding:

“This grant is a lifeline for a small independent museum trust like ours. This investment will get us through the very challenging times ahead as what we can offer schools and groups is reduced due to the covid pandemic and the safety measures we have put in place.”

Ripon Amateur Operatic Society, which is run solely by volunteers and is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, received £54,339.

RAOS has been unable to perform any shows in 2020.

Its city centre arts space at 49 Allhallowgate, acquired by the society several years ago, has also been unable to provide facilities for other organisations, artists and performers since March.

Society chair Linda Aikman said:

“This grant will allow us to make the venue completely covid-secure so we can safely allow audiences in again in line with guidelines and legislation.

“It means that the membership, including our youth theatre, can confidently rehearse and perform again, can deliver some much needed entertainment to the local community in a safe way, and not be constrained by financial aspects.”

The Ripon Amateur Operatic Society headquarters in Allhallowgate

Linda, added:

“One of the challenges we were facing was how to bring what we do to a limited audience without making a loss. The grant now means that performances can go ahead without us having to charge extortionate ticket prices to make ends meet.”

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Hannah Ruddy, the society’s marketing and publicity manager, pointed out:

“We will be using the grant to support local artists and give them a viable platform to perform once again at the same time as providing the community with the cultural opportunities that have, unfortunately, been so adversely affected by the pandemic. We would love to hear from local artists and performers who could benefit.”

The society is also embarking on a separate project to make the building more accessible and usable to more people. Fundraising for this aspect – which cannot be funded from the CRF grant i-s ongoing.

Subject to local or national restrictions, the society will stage its first performance of the year at Allhallowgate at the end of November.

Details will be published on  www.riponoperatics.org and Facebook Page @riponamateuroperaticsociety as soon as possible.