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29
Oct 2021
Ripon building owners apologise for "eyesore" as redevelopment plans progress
Owners of a historic Ripon site, which fell into a state of disrepair, have apologised to neighbours as the area is prepared for residential redevelopment.
Leeds-based Graycliffe Homes bought the former Girls' High School Old Lecture Building, on College Road, as a development opportunity ten years ago.
Over the past decade, the two storey red brick Edwardian building has had windows broken and slates stolen while its grounds became overgrown.
Graycliffe's managing director, Wayne Butterfield, who has been involved in a major tidy up of the area, told the Stray Ferret:
Planning permission was granted by Harrogate Borough Council for the former high school to be refurbished and converted to create eight townhouses.
There will also be five new-build homes on the site, which will be landscaped, with green spaces retained.
Graycliffe will not carry out the conversion and new build, but it is in discussions with developers who will carry forward the scheme.
Christopher Hughes, chair of Ripon Civic Society, welcomed the activity on site.
He said:
The former school provided secondary education for girls, until its amalgamation with Ripon Grammar School in the early 1960’s.
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Afterwards, the building was used as part of the Ripon Teacher Training College and later the College of Ripon & York St John.
Following the closure of the training college, it was let to Leeds Metropolitan University whose lease on the building ended in 2012.
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