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21
May
New structure approved for Ripon Spa Gardens
Planners have paved the way for a new structure to be erected in Ripon Spa Gardens.
Rotary Club of Ripon Rowels, which fundraises for charities, applied to build a wishing well in the formal gardens west of the city centre.
North Yorkshire Council has now approved the application, despite concerns from heritage groups.
The Edwardian spa gardens were part of Ripon’s attempt to emulate the success of Harrogate as a spa town.
Created on three acres of land purchased from the first Marquess of Ripon, whose statue is visible from the Park Street entrance, the gardens were laid out in 1902. The central bandstand officially opened the following year.
The bandstand
The gardens now form part of a spa quarter that also includes the former Ripon Spa Baths, which opened in 1905 and is now being converted for residential and commercial use, and the Spa Hotel, which opened in 1909 and is now the Ripon Inn.
Various grade two listed buildings are located in the vicinity, which is part of Ripon Conservation Area.
The statue of the Marquess.
The wishing well will be located four metres from the Marquess’s statue and 15 metres from the war memorial.
'Inappropriate'
Yorkshire Gardens Trust, a charity which conserves garden heritage, said in its consultation on the proposal:
The proposed wishing well location is immediately north of the Marquess’s statue and so in the setting of the listed structure.
Whilst we appreciate the charitable donation focus of the Rotary Club of Ripon Rowels and this application to site a wishing well for the purpose, we consider that it would be inappropriate both in the proposed location so near to the important statue and in its setting, and in the overall historic design of the spa gardens.
An artist's impression of the wishing well.
Council case officer Amy Benfold’s public report says Ripon Civic Society also objected on the grounds that it was “not a suitable location in close proximity to several listed buildings” and could also attract vandalism, but Ripon City Council supported the proposal.
Ms Benfold said in her report:
The proposal would provide a wishing well in a public open space with the funds raised to be donated to charity. The proposal would therefore provide public benefits in facilitating aid for charities. On balance, the public benefits which will arise from the proposed development are considered to outweigh the less than substantial harm to the setting of the grade two listed buildings.
The wishing well will measure 1.8 metres in diameter and incorporate a 2.7 metre open-ended pitched roof. It will be made of coursed stone and have a blue slate roof.
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