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21
Jun
Boundary dispute over whether Clotherholme should belong to Ripon or Masham and Fountains
Ripon City Council and the Liberal Democrat councillor Felicity Cunliffe-Lister have disagreed over which parish the Ripon Barracks site should belong to.
Government housing agency Homes England has permission to build 1,300 homes on 85 hectares of land at the barracks.
The Clotherholme development, as it is known, would be accessed via Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road to the west of the city, towards Fountains Abbey.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is currently reviewing the boundaries for North Yorkshire Council as well as for parish and towns councils in the county.
There is disagreement about which county council division Clotherholme should belong to.
Ripon City Council approved the following proposal on June 2:
To assist in reducing the number of Ripon electors to the optimum, we recommend that the north-west extremity of Ripon Cathedral and Spa division be transferred into the Masham and Fountains division, to include the military estate, where personnel are largely transient and seldom form long-term connections with the city of Ripon.
If this were adopted, the Clotherholme development would become part of the Mashan and Fountains division, which is currently represented by Cllr Cunliffe-Lister.
Asked for her views by the Stray Ferret, she said:
The addition of the barracks to my division is not one I could support.
Whilst the residents there may be transient, their community is aligned with Ripon and not the villages in the hinterland.
As we all know, that area will soon be developed and be populated by permanent residents who will have even stronger connections with Ripon. It's also not clear if this would amount to a new parish outside of Ripon City Council or a new ward within Ripon City Council, either way would not be practicable
Cllr Cunliffe-Lister
The Masham and Fountains division currently includes 14 parishes councils and Cllr Cunliffe-Lister has encouraged each of them to submit their views on the Boundary Commission's recommendations.
Looking at the broader picture and the changes that boundary reallignment will bring, she pointed out:
Whilst I will regret losing any parishes within my division, my view is that those to the south have stronger contacts with Harrogate and Pateley Bridge than they might have with Ripon.
Likewise, Littlethorpe may have more in common with its neighbouring parishes to the South and East of Ripon, than with my other villages such as Kirkby Malzeard and Masham.
Lib Dems set to win?
The Boundary Commission has sided in favour of Cllr Cunliffe-Lister's proposals for Clotherholme.
Its draft recommendation this month said:
Our draft recommendations are based on the Liberal Democrats’ proposals. We consider their approach to creating a division focused on the eastern part of Ripon and the adjacent rural parishes to be logical given their proximity to the Ripon Canal and River Ure.
In contrast, we found on our virtual tour of Ripon that the council’s proposal to place the Clotherholme area in a large, rural Masham and Fountains division may not reflect the community identities of electors residing in the Clotherholme area.
Additionally, we determined that the boundary suggested in that area was not clearly defined.
Review timelines
The review, however, is not complete.
The Boundary Commission, an independent body set up by Parliament, will publish its final recommendations in September this year after considering this month's draft recommendation.
is carrying out an electoral review of North Yorkshire because it is a relatively new local authority, established in 2023.
The proposed boundaries aim to ensure each councillor represents a similar number of electors; reflect the identity and interests of local communities; and help councils discharge their responsibilities effectively.
It has proposed having 89 councillors on North Yorkshire Council — a reduction of one.
They would represent 85 single-councillor divisions and two two-councillor divisions.
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