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06
Oct
Call for compulsory purchase of grade II listed Ripon building
A prominently located Ripon building that has been vacant for many years will come under the spotlight at a city council meeting on Monday evening.
Members will consider a proposal to call upon North Yorkshire Council to make a compulsory purchase of the grade II listed property at 36 Low Skellgate, so that plans approved for its regeneration almost 17 years ago can be brought to fruition.
The Georgian building was previously a second-hand store and garage for motor vehicles and the application for its conversion to form five apartments, along with erection of a single-storey rear extension, was granted by Harrogate Borough Council planners in December 2007.
Approval was also given for external alterations, including replacement of the shop frontage with four windows and a door, and rendering of the front elevation.
Planning documents seen by the Stray Ferret said that the permission granted: "will ensure the special character, appearance and physical fabric of the Grade II Listed Building is retained", but Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, who is proposing the approach to North Yorkshire Council, said:
This clearly has not been achieved and what we have been left with is a building, located at one of the busiest junctions in the city that, over the years, has become an eyesore, when it should be back in active use providing much-needed homes for local people.
Some work was carried out on the property after planning permission was granted, but it came to a halt and the only course of action open to us is to call on North Yorkshire Council to exercise its compulsory purchase powers, acquire the building and get the redevelopment back on track.
The cost of buying the building would be recouped through the subsequent sale of the new homes.
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