One of Ripon’s favourite play areas is to be refurbished in time for summer.

New equipment will be installed in Quarry Moor park, funded by the 2021-2022 parish precept.

The park, just off the A61 on the southern approach to Ripon, was donated to the city in 1945 by Alderman Thomas Fowler Spence.

It currently includes an activities centre for children as well as outdoor play equipment.

Ripon City Council leader, councillor Andrew Williams, told the Stray Ferret:

“The play equipment, that adds to the park’s attraction for families with young children, has been in need of replacement for some time.

“With the prospect of the covid lockdown being lifted later this year, we want to ensure that the work is completed in readiness for the summer months.”

The land, which includes woodland walks, was left in trust by the former mayor on the understanding that it would be:

“Kept for Ripon children for all time.”

The 24-acre site was a limestone quarry for hundreds of years until the 1950s. It was also used for military training during the Second World War.

In 1986, after extensive conservation work by volunteers, it was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Quarry Moor Activities Centre

The area includes species-rich calcareous grassland and a protected wildflower meadow.

A woodland path was added in 2019.

Ripon prides itself on being child-friendly and for many years the city council has supported free family events.

These include the St Wilfrid’s Day procession in August, the switch-on of Christmas lights and New Year’s Eve entertainment on Market Square.

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The coronavirus crisis and social distancing requirements, in place since last March, caused the cancellation of mass participation activities.

For the upcoming financial year, £100,000 is being allocated for public events from summer onwards.

It is hoped that covid will be under sufficient control to allow them to go ahead.

Ripon’s parish precept for 2021-2022 will generate £400,000. Council taxpayers in the city will pay £70 towards it, in addition to council tax paid to North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council.

A virtual pet show is enabling Ripon Grammar School students to help young people affected by the pandemic.

The imaginative idea ensures the show can go on, using Instagram as the platform to show off dogs, cats and other pets.

The school’s Prince’s Trust charity team is asking for photographs showcasing the best and cutest pets, for a suggested donation of £2. Cash and pet hamper prizes will be awarded in three categories for dogs, cats and other animals.

More than 50 favourite photographs have already been entered. The closing date is March 10 and winners will be announced later in the month.

All money raised will go towards the Prince’s Trust, which helps young people all over the UK. The charity helps them to build confidence and skills, while supporting them into education, jobs and training.

Organiser Alice Simmerson, who has entered her own dog, Flo, into the show, said:

“I feel confident that, despite lockdown, we can achieve our aims to raise a large sum of money for such a good cause.”

Will this cat win one of the Ripon Grammar School Pet Show prizes?

Student Molly Acton said she and the other members of the 13-strong RGS Prince’s Trust team feel strongly about helping young people adversely affected by the pandemic.

She added:

“I feel proud to be raising money for this charity, despite being confined to home. Even though we may be struggling to control our own lives, we can still help others.

“With education interrupted, the loss of apprenticeships and increasing youth unemployment, young people especially have suffered at the hands of the pandemic. If we can help in any way to make their lives easier and more sustainable, we must.”

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Previously, a team led by Marcus Bartlem raised £200 for the Prince’s Trust with a cake sale at school before the recent lockdown. It also sold candy canes before Christmas and aims to raise around £1,000 in total by the end of this academic year.

Marcus said:

“I’m happy the money is going to such a good cause, helping young people to stay on their feet when the coronavirus has derailed so many lives.”

Future fundraising plans include completing the Three Peaks walk, within guidelines, in 24 hours, and a funky tie or socks day once school re-opens.

Ripon City Council has asked North Yorkshire County Council to approve its request for 14 vehicle activated speed signs.

The county council, which is the highways authority, has the ultimate say over where the signs can be placed.

It has indicated it will approve use of the signs, which are intended to encourage drivers to obey speed restrictions rather than punish them, on no more than eight Ripon streets.

But Ripon councillors have identified 14 hotspots for the traffic-calming measure and hope they will all be approved.

The signs show drivers their speed and whether they are going too fast. The cost of adapting each lamp post to include a sign is £500 plus VAT.

Paula Benson, clerk to Ripon City Council, told February’s full council meeting the county council had said it was prepared to approve the use of the signs on no more than eight Ripon streets.

Councillors voted unanimously to call on the county council to approve more locations.

They also said that if additional money was required for signs and installation it should come from the city council.

City, Harrogate district and county councillor, Stuart Martin, said:

“Members of the public have told us where these signs are needed.

“We should stick with the locations that have been identified and requested.”

Council leader Andrew Williams added:

“Ripon is not a small village, it’s a growing city with more traffic and therefore increased risk to pedestrians.”

Whitcliffe Lane – one of 14 locations on the city council list for a speed awareness sign.

Because the signs are mobile, they can be moved around the city and put in selected traffic hotspots for a few weeks at a time.

Councillor Pauline McHardy, said:

“It’s a way of educating motorists driving in different parts of Ripon, by making them aware of their speed.”

Among the locations on the city council list is Kirkby Road, where residents have likened a 300-metre stretch with no white lines to a ‘race track’.

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Across the city, Whitcliffe Lane has also been put forward as a street in need of a speed sign.

The lane is alongside a new housing development at the former Ripon Cathedral Choir School site, which has increased traffic.

This situation is being repeated in other parts of Ripon, where new housing schemes are coming on stream.

The Workhouse Museum in Ripon is providing another illuminating experience.

The Allhallowgate building is being lit up shortly after dark each evening with displays celebrating the city’s past.

The images are being projected onto the museum, which is currently closed due to lockdown.

Organised by Ripon Museum Trust, the idea follows the successful Christmas lighting display, which used the building as a backdrop.

Ripon’s proud history of community service is captured in a photographic display projected onto the Workhouse Museum shortly after dark.

Called Serving Our Community – Images from Ripon’s Past, the light show features historic photographs from the Ripon Re-Viewed collection.

It includes images of civic leaders, emergency services, voluntary groups and others who have provided community service in the city.

The message taken from the past applies to current times, making the point that ‘together we are stronger’.

Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust said:

“We had some fantastic feedback from the community on our Christmas lighting display and we wanted to keep it running.

“After talking with Ripon Re-Viewed, we came up with the idea to display some brilliant historic photos of Ripon in days gone by,

“It’s a way to bring the community together through our shared past, at what is a difficult time for many. Hopefully the display will intrigue and inspire anyone passing by the museum.”

Designed and created by locally-based audio-visual and lighting specialists Fusion LX, the light show runs for two hours each evening.

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Mandy Whitehead, project lead at Ripon Re-Viewed, said:

“A big thank you to the Workhouse Museum and Fusion LX for the opportunity at this time to share some of the fabulous images from Ripon’s past, of local people serving our community.

“We hope it will give the local community an insight into life in Ripon across the years.”

The display can be viewed for two hours just after dark.

Ripon’s three museums are currently closed due to the national lockdown.

Full details of the museums’ reopening will be published online at riponmuseums.co.uk as soon as they are available.

Ripon’s Spa Hotel, which has been closed for 11 months, is back on the market at a reduced asking price of £1.5 million.

The historic Edwardian building opened in 1906 – a year after the nearby Ripon Spa.

It is being marketed by agents Colliers International for continued use as a hotel.

An executive summary from Colliers states:

“This is an outstanding opportunity to acquire a renowned Yorkshire hotel in a desirable trading location.”

The summary adds the 40-bed hotel, with its range of public rooms, has enjoyed “strong regular repeat custom based on its standing in the Ripon area”.

The hotel is in search of a buyer to return it to its former glory as Ripon’s principal hotel.

Colliers adds there is:

“Potential to further develop the trade, particularly with additional wedding and special event business, following a refurbishment to a purchaser’s specification.”

In July, the Stray Ferret reported that the hotel, which had been on the market for £1.75 million, had ceased trading.

Ripon Civic Society is urging Harrogate Borough Council not to rush the sale of Ripon’s Spa Baths.

The society believes serious consideration should be given to using the grade II listed building to increase health provision.

RCS chair Christopher Hughes told the Stray Ferret:

“Ripon Civic Society urges that disposal of Ripon Spa Baths must not happen without transparent evidence that its potential contribution to health provision in our growing city and wider value to the community have been thoroughly addressed.”

The Ripon Neighbourhood Plan identified the baths as an important and accessible location for Ripon’s NHS facilities.

It set out how it could enhance health facilities for the city in coordination with the nearby Ripon Community Hospital and general practices.

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The plan, which involved input from HBC, Ripon City Council, RCS and other partners, states:

“The Spa Quarter provides the largest area of protected open space for the city centre, the enhancement of which through integration of currently separated Spa Park and Spa Gardens,  (it) is significant for the city centre’s atmosphere and amenity.”

Mr Hughes said RCS was surprised to learn that Harrogate Borough Council is selling the Spa Baths:

He added:

“What is important is that the Ripon Neighbourhood Plan acknowledges the eventual disposal of the Baths if and when they should become redundant. They are a principal part of the Spa Quarter and part of the big picture for Ripon city centre.”

The society believes the new Ripon Renewal project provides an immediate opportunity to explore how the Spa  Baths can best contribute to the city’s regeneration.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:

“Ripon Spa Baths has served the community well over the years and is now being replaced by a modern, state-of-the-art pool at Ripon Leisure Centre, following significant investment by the borough council.

“This new six-lane 25-metre pool will offer 70 per cent more water space, extensive changing facilities, bicycle and car parking and complements the extensively improved leisure centre.

“Once the project is complete, it will provide much needed state-of-the-art facilities that will encourage a healthier and more active lifestyle for our residents, and provide one of the most modern leisure facilities in the region.

“The future sale, and redevelopment of the listed building, would allow this local asset to be redeveloped (subject to planning approval), retain key features and remain as a city landmark.”

Despite covid and “mountains of paperwork” caused by Brexit, Ripon Engineering Supplies is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary with further expansion.

Established in 1981 by Richard Lawrence, the company supplies engineering products to the trade and public.

It employs 13 staff at its new Camp Hill Close premises and plans to add to that number – despite the huge recent challenges.

Mr Lawrence, the managing director, told the Stray Ferret:

“Brexit has had a bigger negative effect on the business than covid.

“We’re just hoping it’s teething problems, as the UK adjusts to being out of Europe.

“It’s not looking too promising at present – and I’m sure we’re not alone in facing these issues, including the frustration of dealing with mountains of time-consuming paperwork.”

China-made products subject to tariffs 

Many products are manufactured in China and are subject to tariffs when they are transported through the channel ports.

Besides increasing costs, the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is also causing delays.

Daniel Smith, the company’s sales and marketing manger, said:

“Some items that we were able to order and receive the next day are now held up for weeks at the docks.”

However, the company, which stocks over 50,000 items ranging from a 4 mm nut costing a penny to large welding equipment costing £5,000, remains focused on the future.

Storemen Zac Garrington (left) and Joel Francis are among the locally recruited staff.

Healthy year-on-year growth of between 10 to 12 percent means Ripon Engineering Supplies is now operating from its fifth location in the city.

Each move to larger premises has been prompted by increased demand.

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Mobile shop launched

As part of its strategic plan, the company has launched a mobile shop serving North Yorkshire.

Its one-stop shop on wheels takes essential components and tools to customers, including food factories, famers, engineers, mechanics and local government departments.

As well as providing a rapid response service, the covid-secure Mercedes Sprinter van reduces the need for people to visit the Camp Hill Close premises while social distancing requirements remain in place.

Mr Lawrence started as a sole trader with a second-hand Transit van and three children to feed, selling nuts, bolts, tools and a myriad of other products.

Two of those children, Mark and Sam, now work for the business and provide a ready-made route to succession for the day when Mr Lawrence and his wife and fellow director Paula, decide to take life a little easier.

Ripon councillors have rejected new lease terms being offered for the city’s historic town hall.

The hall and other heritage assets were transferred into the ownership of Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) in 1974.

However, there has been no lease in place on the building for many years.

Elected members want to secure the council’s long-term tenure ahead of devolution- the biggest shake-up in local government for more than 45 years.

In addition, they are seeking to negotiate a long-term lease for Market Square South, which they say is an under-utilised public space.

Councillors say Market Square South will remain an under-utilised city asset if restrictive lease terms are applied to its use.

HBC is proposing that, as part of the service charge element of a two-year lease, Ripon City Council accepts part responsibility for the maintenance of the building.

City council leader Andrew Williams told a virtual full-council meeting

“Accepting such terms would land us with an open-ended liability.

“The Council is not in a position to accept financial responsibility for maintenance that could include large-scale works, such as repair or even replacement of the town hall roof.

“No commercial business tenant would accept such a liability and we will not accept it because of the potential financial ramifications for council precept payers.”

The meeting was also told that the current draft lease includes a clause which says HBC only has to give two week’s notice, if it wishes to stage an event on Market Square South.

This space is approximately half of the total area of Market Square and Cllr Williams, said:

“If Harrogate Borough Council has this preferential use, the city will be unable to do long-term planning for events on this half of the square.”

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An HBC spokesman said:

“The lease of Ripon Town Hall is still being discussed between the tenant (Ripon City Council) and the landlord (Harrogate Borough Council). Therefore we have nothing to add.”

Councillors voted unanimously to set up a working group to handle negotiations with HBC officers.

Ripon will see one of its value retailers close on Sunday.

Fultons Foods, which has operated in The Arcade for many years, is shutting up shop.

It joins a list of retailers to close in Ripon since the first covid lockdown last March.

A Stray Ferret reader, who asked not to be named, said:

“This is very sad news. Many people with limited income have been shopping there.”

This week store staff were busy clearing shelves and emptying freezers ahead of the weekend closure.

The Yorkshire retailer has more than 100 stores in the north of England, including two in Harrogate and one in Knaresborough.

It is understood that only the Ripon Fultons store in the Harrogate district is closing.

Over the 50 years since the business was established, Fultons has sold branded goods, including frozen foods, groceries and chilled foods at bargain basement prices.

Wren’s department store, which was home to more than 50 small independent retailers, closed at the end of November.

The Stray Ferret asked Frozen Value Ltd – which trades as Fultons Foods – what prompted its closure decision and what would happen to existing staff.

No response had been received at the time of going to press.

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Fultons’ soon-to-be vacant unit in The Arcade was previously occupied by a small Marks and Spencer food store.

M&S opened a purpose-built store in Rotary Way, Ripon last summer and could soon have Lidl as one of its neighbours at St Michael’s Retail Park.

If Lidl receives planning permission, it will bolster Ripon’s value retailer offering, alongside the Aldi in Stonebridgegate.

Fultons’ impending closure is the latest retail loss in Ripon city centre.

Other businesses to shut recently include Wrens, the city’s only department store, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Ponden Home and Jon Barrie menswear.