Harrogate Borough Council has said additional costs caused by the delay in completing Ripon’s new swimming pool and leisure centre refurbishment, cannot be revealed due to commercial confidentiality.
Construction firm Willmott Dixon was awarded a £10.2 million contract last year to build the pool and refurbish the leisure centre.
The scheme involves creating a six-lane pool, a health suite, two dance studios, a spin studio and new play areas outside.
The council approved the initiative in June 2019.
16 months before the council approved the swimming pool development a sinkhole opened up in the leisure centre car park.
Following the incident in February 2018, which saw the car park barriered off and closed, the council issued this statement:
“The sinkhole will not affect the project to construct a new pool for Ripon. We are still waiting for the structural engineer’s report, which will influence the design of the new building. We’ve always known about the potential of sinkholes on the site which is why we’ve been carrying out tests to understand what foundations may be required.”
At the June 2019 planning meeting, three members of the eight-member committee abstained rather than support the project, after ‘deep concerns’ were expressed about the sinkhole risk in an area of Ripon known for widespread gypsum deposits.
Masham councillor Nigel Simms voted against the application because he believed ground stability issues made it an untenable use of public money.
The city’s gypsum problem was highlighted in a major technical report commissioned by the Department of the Environment in 1996, titled ‘Assessment of Subsidence Arising from Gypsum Dissolution (with Particular Reference to Ripon, North Yorkshire)’
Work started on the Camp Close site, at Dallamires Lane, on 25 November 2019 and the 17-month project was scheduled for completion by 21 May 2021. It is now due to be completed in November 2021.
Councillor Stanley Lumley, the council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said the project had been ‘slightly delayed’ by COVID-19.
Construction on the site was halted for five weeks during the first lockdown and did not stop during the second lockdown.
In May, Willmott Dixon operations director Nick Corrigan told the Stray Ferret that approximately 30 workers, including management, had been back on site since 30 April.
In Cllr Lumley’s 13 November press release, he said: ‘Ground work, known as grouting, is nearing completion.’
Grouting is a method used to stabilise unstable ground.
The Stray Ferret submitted a Freedom of Information request seeking details about the cost of ground works on the site.
The council said it holds the information but it was exempt from disclosure. It did, however confirm that there would be extra cost, saying:
“Additional ‘site preliminaries’ will be payable to the main contractor as a result of the extension of the construction contract.”
The council, added:
“A public authority may refuse to disclose information to the extent that its disclosure would adversely affect the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information where such confidentiality is provided by law to protect a legitimate economic interest.”
A sign saying that Ripon’s new swimming pool and refurbished leisure centre will be ‘opening in Summer 2021’ was still in place this week.
Regarding questions about the cost of ground remediation, the council said:
“In this instance, specific information regarding the amount of the contract committed to ground stabilisation could be a disincentive to provide pricing for public sector opportunities which could then lead to a lack of future competition which could increase prices and represent worse value for money within the sector.
“The council therefore considers maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.”
£500,000 restoration of historic Ripon church begins
Work has begun on the £500,000 restoration of St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church — one of Ripon’s architectural gems.
Years of fundraising by parishioners and awards from trusts, boosted by a £75,000 grant from Historic England, have made the project possible.
Parishioner and chair of fundraising, Barrie Price, said:
“After all our trials and tribulations of nearly five years, the contractors came on site to commence phase one of our restoration programme.
“This covers the whole of the central area of the church, excluding the rear section, and is expected to be completed by the end of March.”
St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church on Coltsgate Hill.
The grant from Historic England, awarded after a successful application from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, will enable the construction of a south porch extension, including toilets.
St. Wilfrid’s, which opened in 1862, is recognised as one of finest parish churches in England.
Its ornate reredos screens designed by Victorian architect Edward Pugin provide dramatic backdrops to the high altar and adjacent side altar, dedicated to St Joseph.
Both architectural works of art, sculpted from solid blocks of stone, provide focal points within the grade II* listed building.
In 1909 fittings from the private chapel at nearby Studley Royal were transferred to St Wilfrid’s following the death of the Marquess of Ripon — the city’s first mayor since the reformation — who had previously created the Lady Chapel within the church.
These include 10 stained-glass windows installed along the north and south aisles and dating from 1878.
Now, more than 50 years after the church’s last major refurbishment, the reredos, along with other parts of the building’s fabric, will be repaired and cleaned by specialists.
Mr Price, an accountant and former Ripon City and Harrogate district councillor, said:
“We were all ready to go earlier this year, but the first covid lockdown brought a temporary halt to everything, with the church having to close to meet the government’s social distancing requirements.”
A Nidderdale vicar has called on parishioners to book early for Christmas services to avoid disappointment.
Places of worship are allowed to re-open today although people can only interact with their households or support bubbles, and must conform to social distancing rules.
With Advent underway and Christmas approaching, many Christians will be keen not to miss out on festive services.
The Rev. Alastair Ferneley, Vicar of Dacre with Hartwith and Darley with Thornthwaite, said the church was keen to offer comfort and joy after such a difficult year but added:
“We do need to maintain social distancing, so it is essential for people to book in advance for most of our services.
“My message is, please book sooner rather than later for the public Christmas services – not just to avoid disappointment, but also to help our planning.
“If it turns out no one wants to come to a particular service we can save a lot of time and effort on decoration, Christingles, heating, etc.”
Booking in advance for Christmas services across four Nidderdale parishes will help with planning.
The Rev. Ferneley said churches needed to consider issues such as appropriate seating for families and bubbles. He added:
“Parishioners will need to wear a face covering in church and we are sadly not able to sing as a congregation while inside, though we can offer carols sung by a few socially distanced singers and/or on CD.”
The government has issued new guidance, saying carol singing outside can be part of public worship.
The Rev Ferneley said:
“This is difficult to plan for given the unpredictability of the weather, but we may be able to begin and end services outside so we might have a bit of a sing as part of some of these services.
“We will fully understand if people are not comfortable with coming to services at the moment, which is why we are also offering numerous online alternatives whereby people can join in our Christmas celebrations – either via a live stream or a pre-recorded service.”
For further details you can email Alastair Ferneley at irreverend@btinternet.com.
Ripon’s only department store closes it doors
Ripon’s only department store has closed its doors after the second COVID-19 lockdown wiped out a crucial month of trading.
Owner Mark Butler, who set up the ‘House of Independent Retailers’ seven years ago, told the Stray Ferret:
“I’m very sorry to say that losing the month of November, was the killer for us.
“Our monthly overheads are £7,000 and we haven’t been able to make a penny at a time of year when people start buying their Christmas gifts
“We had hoped that Christmas would be our saviour, but that was not to be and we had to take the painful decision to close.”
Wrens department store, which is now closed
The Fishergate store, which provided sales space for 52 independent retailers, ranging from those selling a single product to a section dedicated to womenswear, was located in the building previously occupied by the Philip Hall department store.
Its award-winning concept, which earned a national prize for innovative retailing, gave start-up and other small retailers low risk means of entry to the market, with affordable rents and low overheads.
Mr Butler, who has received hundreds of messages of goodwill since news of the closure was shared on social media, said:
“We are leaving with our heads held high and proud to have played a part in helping more than a dozen fledgling businesses to get off the ground and set up in their own shops.”
He pointed out:
“We are parting on good terms with all of our retailers, who are now in the process of collecting their stock and we have maintained a good relationship with our landlord.”
After the first three-month lockdown was lifted in June, Mr Butler said that survival of the business would be reliant on staycationers coming to campsites and holiday lets in the Ripon area.
He hoped that people who had not been able to go on overseas holidays, would have money to spend in the shops, but the footfall did not materialise and this, combined with the loss of day-trip customers arriving by coach, dealt another blow.
As he prepares to lock the premises for good, he had a message, saying:
Derelict land in Ripon blocked off amid safety concerns“I sincerely wish all independent retailers a successful Christmas, with people shopping locally to help them make it through this very difficult time.”
Work is underway to block off derelict land on a former building site in Ripon that has been identified as a safety hazard to children and an eyesore.
Harrogate Borough Council is installing hoardings at a cost of £5,000 on the land at Skellgarths.
The land, at the junction with Duck Hill, formerly housed Ripon’s first purpose-built public library, which was demolished in 2014 after the site was bought for housing redevelopment.
Ripon city councillor Councillor Mike Chambers, who is also a district and county councillor, told last week’s virtual city council meeting the developer was declared bankrupt in January 2019 and the land now belonged to the Crown.
He added:
“However, following lengthy discussions I have had with the Harrogate Borough Council enforcement team about tidying up the site, it has been agreed that hoardings with a gated access will be put in place to cover off the area.”
Because the developer is bankrupt, there is no means of recouping the cost of blocking the area from view and it was agreed Ripon City Council will make a £1,250 donation towards the works.
The derelict site is on the route to Fountains Abbey, Newby Hall and Ripon city centre
Council leader Andrew Williams said:
“We should make the payment on the proviso that when the land is eventually sold by the Crown, we and Harrogate Borough Council will be reimbursed.
“In the meantime, the area has to be tidied up and made safe. My concern is that there are footings on the site that are full of water and we wouldn’t want children to get in there and come to any harm.”
A suggestion made by Cllr Williams at the city council’s October meeting that the hoardings include artwork produced by a local group, was reiterated by Councillor Stuart Martin.
Cllr Martin, said:
“The artwork could include images that promote the city’s history and heritage attractions.”
Not all members were in favour of making a donation towards the cost of the project.
Councillor Pauline McHardy, said:
“I’m not opposed to the hoardings, but don’t see why we should be asked to pay £1,250 out of precept money. People in Ripon should not be facing double taxes.
“Harrogate Borough Council receives plenty of council tax from our residents and should pay for the work from this,”
Ripon museum volunteers involved in major workhouse exhibition
Ripon Museum Trust has been involved in a major new online exhibition presented by The Workhouse Network called ‘More Than Oliver Twist.’
Volunteers from the Workhouse Museum in Allhallowgate – one of three heritage attractions operated in the city by the trust – worked on the project presented on the Google Arts & Culture platform.
The exhibition sets out to discover the real stories of people in the workhouse system through the 1881 census returns.
Researched and interpreted by volunteer researchers at six sites across The Workhouse Network, the stories have been used to create an online exhibition, with work from artists Morgan Tipping and Mel Rye, exploring six of these lives and the contemporary echoes of their historic experiences.
The immersive exhibition combines audio narrative and visualisations, enabling audiences to encounter the multidimensional lives of people then known as ‘paupers.’ The work is drawn directly from the research, museum collections, workhouse buildings, volunteers’ experiences and related contemporary lives.
Ripon’s Workhouse Museum
Within the exhibition, audiences will find The Life of Hannah Wade, a creative interpretation of the life of an inmate at Ripon Union Workhouse, now Ripon Workhouse Museum and Garden.
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust, which also runs the Police & Prison Museum and Old Courthouse museums, said:
“We’re delighted to see the results of this project, which our volunteers worked incredibly hard on. The content that has been created is remarkable: moving, thought-provoking and central to what we are trying to do here – to use the past to consider more deeply the issues of today.”
Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association says:
“This fantastic project brings the stories of people who lived and worked in workhouses alive. I was fascinated by the story of Louisa Ledger and her struggle, that many women past and present have faced, to raise her children against the odds.
“The contemporary reflections help us explore the lives of invisible people who would otherwise be forgotten and have special resonance as we live through a pandemic that is hitting those worst off in society hardest.”
The project has also created the largest database of poor individuals and families yet constructed to shed light on the diverse experience of the poor.
More than 325 biographies of these everyday people who experienced hardship and support under the very first system of national welfare have been created – the largest national database of biographies of people known at the time as “paupers”.
The project is funded by Arts Council England and supported by Nottingham Trent University and The National Archive.
Pateley Bridge maintains Christingle tradition for charity
Despite the COVID-19 lockdown and its limitations on the festive season, the special spirit of Christmas is being maintained in Pateley Bridge this year.
The annual Christingle Service, that has been held at the Parish Church of St Cuthbert for more than 30 years, is going virtual and can be seen online at 6pm on Christmas Eve.
In the meantime, a video showing how Christingles are made, has been posted on the St Cuthbert Facebook page.
Organiser Mrs Joyce Liggins told the Stray Ferret:
“Many local people view the Christmas Eve service as their start to the festive season and the church is usually packed.
“In normal years the congregation make up their Christingles during the service with a candle and an orange and they make their donation to the Children’s Society in a box provided.
“Unfortunately, with the coronavirus crisis, we cannot hold the service this year, but we didn’t want the charity to lose out, so Gillian Yeadon and I asked St Aidan’s students Jasmine, Eve and Amy to sing for us and with the help of The Rev. Darryl Hall and Sue Hickson, who did video recordings, we were able to capture two Christingle events.”
An image from a Christmas past of St Cuthbert’s in Pateley Bridge (photograph courtesy of Geoff Liggins)
The Christingle tradition has, like the bringing of an evergreen tree into a house, its roots in Germany and dates back to the 18th century, when it was introduced by Moravian Bishop Johannes de Watteville.
Since 1968 Christingle services have been held across the UK to raise money for the Children’s Society charity, which helps vulnerable young people.
In 2018, St Cuthbert’s was one of 6,000 locations throughout the country to support the society’s #Christingle50 campaign, which raised more than £1.2 million.
Anybody who would like to support the Pateley Bridge Christingle this year and donate to The Children’s Society, can obtain a Christingle Collecting Candle or go to the fundraising page and give a donation online.
Collecting candles and Christingle kits can be obtained from joyce.m.liggins51@gmail.com
Donations can be made through our online fundraising page at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Joyce-Liggins1
Grants boost of £303,000 for Ripon CathedralRipon’s ancient cathedral, is to receive grants totalling £303,000 to repair a leaking roof and buy equipment for streaming of services.
A grant of £240,000 from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, will go towards the cost of mending the roof on the cathedral’s library.
In addition, grants of £63,000 have been received from Allchurches Trust and the Church Commissioners, enabling the purchase of new online streaming and associated equipment.
The roof repair to the library, which was added to the cathedral in the 15th century, will cost £300,000, with the remaining £60,000 raised through the ‘A Wing and a Prayer’ fundraising project run in partnership with Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
During the first COVID-19 lockdown, the cathedral was loaned equipment so that online services – including those during the Easter period – could be streamed to the homes of parishioners and a wider audience.
With the £10,000 grant from the Allchurches Trust and additional grants of £53,000, the cathedral will be able to pay for a new website and IT equipment for better quality streaming and recording of services, plus cabling and staff support costs.
Online streamed services began before Easter and the cathedral provided a daily streamed evening prayer, a weekly reflection and a Sunday Eucharist.
An aerial view of Ripon Cathedral.
The services have attracted a growing audience with more than 600 subscribers, some from as far away as California and New Zealand. Larger services, for such as that for VE Day, received more than 2,000 views.
Weddings and funerals have also been streamed for people who could not attend because of the strict cap on numbers. These have been seen thousands of times.
The Very Revd John Dobson, Dean of Ripon, said:
“I cannot thank Allchurches Trust enough for the support they are giving us in this essential area of ministry.
“Twelve months ago, this sort of development was on our agenda for the medium-term future. The experience of this year has changed that completely; it is now an urgent matter and an area of our work that is simply indispensable.
“It is particularly valuable at this time as we have big plans for Christmas which this grant will help us deliver, including live streamed carol concerts for people to sing along to at home, organ recitals and other services”.
Looking further ahead into the new year, the cathedral hopes to develop a more extensive range of online services for the congregation and the wider rural community, particularly as the need to socially distance looks set to continue; the new equipment will help to achieve this goal.
Ripon cabbies’ pleas for covid grants rejectedRipon’s 25 taxi drivers have had a plea for grants to make their vehicles covid-secure rejected by Harrogate Borough Council.
The drivers approached the council for help towards measures such as installing screens and hand sanitiser units.
Richard Fieldman, a former chair of the Ripon Taxi Association, said:
“Our business has been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, but the council is unwilling to help us to make our vehicles covid-secure.
“I am currently earning just 25 per cent of what I would make in a normal year and all drivers on the Ripon rank are in a similar situation. We believe we are a forgotten part of the economy and the council doesn’t want to know.
“For them, we are an afterthought, while other local authorities across the UK, including Middlesbrough, have helped their licensed taxi operators.”
The taxi rank in Ripon
The council has also refused to let drivers reduce their overhead costs while they were unable to operate during covid by changing the category of insurance on their vehicles from business to private and leisure use.
Mr Fieldman said:
“Other local authorities allowed their taxi drivers to do this, but Harrogate said we would lose our licence if we changed our insurance while our cars were parked up and earning us nothing.”
Middlesbrough Council’s small grants scheme has provided up to £100 for nearly 500 taxi drivers to help make their vehicles covid-secure.
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said:
“As a district authority we have limited funds available, but will always offer advice and support where we can to businesses.
“For those drivers who chose not to operate, and subsequently cancelled their business insurance, we temporarily suspended their licence. Once insured, we are more than happy to reinstate their licence.
“We have also allocated around £20,000 to the ring-fenced private hire vehicle and operator’s licence account. This meant that we will not raise licence fees at all next year.”
Portable cabin removal restores Ripon festive cheer
A portable cabin parked near Ripon’s Christmas tree on Market Square has been removed.
The cabin appeared two days after the city’s biggest ever display of Christmas lights was switched on and somewhat spoiled the view.
Councillor Stuart Martin told Monday’s virtual meeting of Ripon City Council the cabin had been moved following a request to Yorkshire Water, which ordered the cabin as part of sewer repair works at the junction of Market Square East and Kirkgate.
Cllr Martin, who is also a district and county councillor, said:
“If, as expected, the lockdown is lifted on December 2, the works will be halted until the New Year.”
Ripon spent an extra £65,000 on Christmas lights this year, with the tree in the market place the centrepiece of the attraction.
The Market Square has been a major focal point in Ripon since the 12th century and is one of the most famous landmarks in the Harrogate district.
When the sewer works began, cllr Martin told the Stray Ferret:
“It is not right to put this slap bang in front of a Grade II* listed building, next to the Christmas tree. This has obviously caused a lot of upset.
“The positioning could have been better.”
Work on the sewer repairs at the junction of Market Place East and Kirkgate
Following Cllr Martin’s intervention, Harrogate Borough Council asked Yorkshire Water to find a more appropriate place for the cabins.
In the spirit of making the best of a bad situation, people on an online Ripon community group suggested decorating the cabins as giant presents or as Santa’s sleigh.
Another wrote:
“We have so little to look forward to this year. Surely it’s not too much to ask to be able to take a photo of our beautiful square!”