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14
Apr
Why council officers were unable to support Ripon Cathedral's £8 million planning application
Today, the Stray Ferret reveals why North Yorkshire Council’s planning officers were unable to support Ripon Cathedral’s £8 million annexe plan for Minster Gardens.
The controversial proposal, submitted in January 2023, involved the felling of 11 mature trees, including a 200-year-old protected veteran beech, to make way for a two-storey standalone building on a public open space currently owned by the unitary authority.
The scheme proposed a song school for the cathedral's internationally-famous choristers, an 80-seat refectory, gift shop, additional storage space and Changing Places toilet for people with disabilities.
In January 2024 the application was paused to enable further consultation in the face of growing opposition, led by a 'save the trees' petition which gathered almost 3,000 signatures.
Amended plans submitted in November included a proposal designed to save the beech, but it is now clear that this, along with other outstanding issues, meant that the revised application would not gain the support of council officers.
Planning application withdrawn
On February 14, the cathedral chapter issued a statement in which the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson, announced the withdrawal of the planning application.
Within the statement he said:
We continue to be asked for ever more proof of viability and justification within the planning system.
The plans were redesigned and submitted to North Yorkshire Council in November
'Unresolved issues'
The Stray Ferret asked Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, who is also a member of North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon area planning committee, if he thought the Dean’s reference to ‘viability and justification in the planning system’ was the principal reason for the cathedral’s decision to withdraw the application.
Cllr Williams said:
Correspondence that I have seen from North Yorkshire Council’s planning department shows the cathedral was informed in late January that the application was scheduled to go to a committee meeting to be held in Ripon in March, with a recommendation for refusal, because of a number of unresolved issues.
These issues had been raised by officers before the cathedral submitted its revised application and included concerns about damage to the branches and roots of the veteran beech tree on Minster Gardens, which would be contrary to national planning policy guidance.
In addition to this, the officers had concerns about the loss of other mature trees on Minster Gardens, the size and scale of the proposed annexe building and its impact on the conservation area and neighbouring listed buildings.
Taking all of these issues into consideration, the planning officers were unable to recommend approval of the application.
An architect's perspective of the annexe showing the rear elevation of the building.
'Compromise required'
Cllr Williams added:
It is very obvious that a solution needs to be found to ensure the sustainability of the cathedral, because of the vital role that it plays in the economic and cultural life of the city.
To find a solution will take a degree of compromise and, like the majority of people in Ripon who want the cathedral to thrive and have the 21st century facilities it needs, I am keen to see new proposals brought forward that protect Minster Gardens in a way that will gain wide support across the community and ultimately the necessary planning approval.
Dean John said at the time the application was withthdrawn that the need for a new building “grows ever more urgent”.
He also said any new development must be part of a wider agreed plan for the city that included reviving the idea of creating a cathedral quarter.
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