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05
Nov
Major blow for Ripon Cathedral's £8 million annexe plans
Ripon’s Minster Gardens has been listed as an asset of community value in a setback for the cathedral’s controversial annexe plans.
The decision by North Yorkshire Council means community groups now have six months to secure funding and bid to buy Minster Gardens.
This does not necessarily scupper the cathedral's bid but it presents another hurdle as it seeks planning permission for the scheme.
Ripon Cathedral submitted plans to build a two-storey annexe on Minster Gardens in 2022.
The proposed £8m building would include a cathedral choir school, a café, toilets and disabled access. But the application has proved divisive – mainly due to the loss of a veteran beech tree and 10 other mature trees in Minster Gardens.
Save the Trees – a community group set up to oppose the cathedral’s plans – submitted a nomination to list Minster Gardens as an asset of community value to North Yorkshire Council on September 9. The council has now approved the listing.
Cathedral's view
A council report, which can be viewed here, says the nomination received 70 objections. Many felt it was an attempt to "stop or slow down" the cathedral's plans, while others felt the current state of Minster Gardens was "unsatisfactory" and "unsafe" - citing drug use and drug dealing at the site – for the public.
Ripon Cathedral, which was among the objectors, described Minster Gardens as a "little-used, often threatening area", adding:
"The irony of this nomination is that it can be seen as an attempt to prevent Minster Gardens from becoming the community asset which, with the cathedral's proposed development, it could become", the cathedral wrote.
But the report also said people supported Minster Gardens' continued community use and felt the site added value to the city.
The nomination also outlined Minster Gardens' benefits to the public, which included a safe space for vulnerable people, an area to hold festivals and events, as well as the benefits of retaining urban trees and its significance as part of the War Memorial Garden.
North Yorkshire Council, which owns the land, approved the nomination yesterday (November 4).
Its decision record, which can be viewed here, said "the evidence demonstrates that the nomination for Minster Gardens/Kirkgate Park, Ripon, meets the definition of community value as detailed in the Localism Act 2011".
The council's assessment added:
There is therefore sufficient information provided to demonstrate significant actual use as public open space and a community facility for cultural and recreational activities that are non-ancillary, and therefore this criteria is met.
The nominated asset includes a community garden and public open space, it includes bike storage and benches,is used by local people across age groups and there is evidence of benefit for the whole community.Evidence includes community uses such as theatre performances, picnics, parties, armistice memorials, and public conveniences are located here (used by people attending the cathedral as the cathedral has none). It is also used as a walking route providing a pedestrian-only link to two parts of the city.
The council does not have to accept the group’s offer, but even if the cathedral's plans are approved in December, when its planning application is likely to be determiend, listing the land as an asset of community value is likely to make the already lengthy process even longer.
‘A welcome decision’
A spokesperson for Save the Trees today told the Stray Ferret:
This decision by North Yorkshire Council is a welcome one. It strongly demonstrates that the evidence gathered to support the listing was robust and that we can now officially state that this park is a well-used public area.
Indeed, this decision may prove difficult for the council, as the developer has yet to submit their proposal for the land to the planning committee.
Now that Minster Gardens has been officially listed as an asset of community value - helping to serve the social wellbeing of the city - it would appear illogical if the planning committee then granted the developer permission to build over the land, removing this public benefit.
We hope then that the committee will rightly view this asset as a material consideration, when the application appears before them.
The Stray Ferret also approached Ripon Cathedral about the decision, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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