In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2023, we look at Ripon Cathedral’s controversial planning application for a £6 million development.

What a difference a year makes for Ripon Cathedral.

In 2022, the iconic grade I listed building was both the focus point and venue for numerous events to celebrate the 1,350th anniversary of its foundation.

Its crypt dating back to 672 AD means that Wilfrid’s creation contains the oldest surviving structure of any cathedral in England.

In June 2022, the Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, hosted North Yorkshire’s civic service of celebration for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and just 13 weeks later, was a fitting place for members of the community to grieve Her Late Majesty’s death.

The Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson, greeted visitors and civic guests who attended the Platinum Jubilee service for North Yorkshire held at the cathedral

At Easter 1985, Queen Elizabeth distributed Maundy money to Ripon citizens and her visit was remembered in fine style 37 years later as the cathedral celebrated its Royal connection.

Visitor figures for the ‘Cathedral of the Dales’ rose to a record 100,000 and included in that number were regular churchgoers, tourists, pilgrims and people who came to worship and/or attend events ranging from arts displays and exhibitions, to classical concerts, lectures and even a silent disco.

After such a successful year, in which the cathedral was undeniably the city’s top attraction, all it needed to do to bring more people through its doors, was to provide them with the 21st century facilities that the building lacks.

That would see the end of portable toilets on its piazza and remove the need to hire outside caterers for its hospitality events.

The proposed annex building plan includes a Changing Places toilet to increase accessibility to the cathedral for people with limited mobility. The public toilets currently on Minster Gardens (pictured above) would be demolished.

What happened next?

Last December, the Dean and Chapter’s plans to extend and enhance facilities for users of the building, were submitted nine days before Christmas to the then Harrogate Borough Council.

Since being open to public scrutiny in January, when the application was validated, the annex plan has been the subject of heated debate and acrimonious claims and counter claims on social media.

Among the hundreds of supporting and explanatory documents that could be seen on the Council planning portal, was details of a business  plan centred on an 80-seat refectory, large enough to cater for visitors arriving in coach parties throughout the day.

The Cathedral Choir, with director of Music Dr Ronny Krippner (pictured left), is among the best in the country

Included in the proposed two-storey 1,000 square metres annex is a song school for the cathedral’s top-class choristers, a gift shop, toilets, and additional storage space for chairs and other equipment,

The planning application documents, including letters of support and objection could be found from January 20 on the Harrogate Borough Council planning portal, which subsequently became the North Yorkshire Council portal in April, when Harrogate council was abolished and subsumed into the new unitary authority.

The veteran beech has become the emblem of the protestors’ campaign

The Stray Ferret was first to report that, to make way for the annex, 11 mature trees, including a beech with veteran status, would need to be felled.

The objections begin

Among the early objectors to the scheme, were the planning authority’s own senior officers, including the ecologist and arboriculturist, who pointed out that removal of a veteran tree considered to be ‘irreplaceable’ should be resisted and planning permission only allowed if no other options are open to the applicant.

Objections from Statutory consultees the Woodland Trust and the Yorkshire Gardens Trust followed, but then came a letter of support from Historic England – the government’s expert  adviser on the historic environment.

Its conclusion on the suitability of the proposed siting of the  building, was at odds with the response from local heritage watchdog, Ripon Civic Society.

Following the cathedral’s pre-application presentation to Ripon City Council in December 2022, ten of its 12 members voted to support the ‘general principle’ of the plan, while saying it would comment further on the proposal, once detailed plans had been seen.

In February, owners of hospitality businesses in Kirkgate, attended a city council meeting to tell members that the proposed refectory would ‘funnel’ trade away from them and straight into the annex building.

The cathedral, has claimed from the outset that an uplift of up to 50% more footfall generated by the new development would be beneficial for all of the city’s businesses.

The Dean, who was at the council meeting, along with members of the cathedral chapter, told traders that they had no reason for ‘anxiety’ but a paragraph in the design and access document prepared on behalf of the cathedral said, in black and white:

“Cathedral Refectory: for this to be a financially viable part of the cathedral business plan it needs to be a certain size, to accommodate a coach party, and be very close to the cathedral. This is required to prevent visitors from drifting away from the cathedral and using the various cafés in the city.”

Through the words of the cathedral’s own adviser, the fears of traders were confirmed as being correct and, along with the threat of lost trees, a two-pronged campaign opposing the annex plans gained momentum.

Traders and tree campaigners raise objections

Since April, Ripon resident Jenni Holman, has been raising a petition to save the trees and green space of Minster Gardens.

Her paper petition, supplied in 20 tranches to North Yorkshire planners had, before the Christmas holiday, collected 2078 signatures including new signatories who gathered with dozens of fellow objectors, in a peaceful protest under the bough of the beech that has become the emblem of their campaign.

Ripon City Council’s withdraws support

The growing number of protestors with fears for trade and trees, was not lost on Ripon City Council and at its December meeting, members voted narrowly by 4 votes to 3 to withdraw support for the annex plan and raise an objection to it.  The move came as a surprise to the Cathedral. 

The peaceful protest took place by the veteran beech

The ‘save our trees’ campaign and November 25 protest, which has received support from the Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, attracted wide media coverage, including items broadcast by Yorkshire’s Calendar News and Tyne Tees news and BBC Radio North Yorkshire.

A Christmas break

In the season of goodwill on earth and peace to all men, women and children, the cathedral and its burgeoning choir, painstakingly built by its highly-accomplished director of music, Dr Ronny Krippner, has been at the centre of much-loved and very well-attended traditional Christmas services.

But come the New Year, when those in favour and opposed to the planning application have taken down their festival decorations, the battle for hearts and minds will rage on – much of it through posts on social media.

The planning application will be considered by the Skipton and Ripon Constituency Planning Committee at a meeting to be held in Ripon, because of the strong local interest in it.

With the committee’s next meeting due to be held in Skipton on January 16, the earliest date for consideration of the cathedral’s application would be February.

Main image: An aerial cgi, showing where the annex would sit in relation to the cathedral: Picture Ripon Cathedral Renewed.

Read More:

• Ripon City Council withdraws support for cathedral development
• Dean says cathedral quarter plan will bring more visitors to Ripon
• Financial benefits of Ripon Cathedral expansion ‘uncosted’, claims planning expert
• Retention of veteran beech ‘impractical’ says Ripon Cathedral adviser

Plans have been submitted to close Crescent Gardens in Harrogate to public traffic.

Harrogate-based property developer Impala Estates bought the former Harrogate Borough Council headquarters alongside the road for £4 million in 2020.

It received planning permission in May last year to turn the building into offices, a roof garden restaurant and gym, and to create a two-storey extension. Work has yet to begin.

The company has now applied for permission to install bollards and planters to convert the public highway into a private road.

If approved, the road would be maintained by Impala Estates for access to the Crescent Gardens development and associated car parking bays.

The area affected would include the Crescent Gardens road and footpath from its intersection with Swan Road to its intersection with Montpellier Road.

According to planning documents submitted to North Yorkshire Council, the application site “excludes the off-carriageway parking bays to the south of the Crescent Gardens roadway with the exception of a small section (essentially two parking bays) located directly between the Crescent Gardens building main entrance and the path opposite into the Crescent Gardens park”.

Planters and retractable bollards, similar to those temporarily installed on Beech Grove in Harrogate, would be installed at either end of Crescent Gardens to prevent public vehicles passing.

The documents add:

“The former Harrogate Borough Council agreed to dispose of the land underlying the Crescent Gardens roadway on the basis that it would be stopped up, with the roadway becoming privately owned and associated with the Crescent Gardens development.

“It is also understood that the local highway authority has no objection in principle to the Crescent Gardens roadway being stopped up.”

An impression of how the redeveloped site would look.

James Hartley, director of Impala, told the Stray Ferret,

“The road was discussed at the time of the sale and has been approved by the council at committee.  As part of the process, we have been working with the Department for Transport on the stopping up order and North Yorkshire Council on the submitted planning application.

“The changes to the road will assist in the construction of Crescent Gardens along with providing the building with a well-managed and enhanced setting once the works have been undertaken. This will link the building better with the gardens opposite, achieving a clear public benefit.”

Asked if the company’s plans for the redevelopment of Crescent Gardens had changed, or if a starting date was known, Mr Hartley said:

“Nothing has changed with the broader redevelopment, we are working hard with our design team to develop out the design allowing it to go out to tender.”

Read more:

• Still no timeframe on refurbishment of Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens
• Harrogate Spring Water to hold consultation event on expansion next week

The government has approved plans for the installation of 30 solar panels at a farm in Nidderdale despite “visual harm” concerns.

John Adams submitted the proposal for Gillbeck Farm on Peat Lane at Bewerley to Harrogate Borough Council in September 2022.

It would see 30 panels installed in order to “maximise the use of renewable energy sources”.

However, the authority rejected the proposal on the grounds that it would cause “visual harm and have a negative impact on the landscape and the character of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”.

It added:

“The solar panels will dominate the landscape and become a very prominent feature within it, in a negative and unacceptable manner.”

Mr Adams, who owns the farm, took the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with planning appeals.

He argued that the land would not be not visible to passers by and that Peat Lane was “infrequently” used by cars, walkers and cyclists.

Read more:

• Claim North Yorkshire Council ‘not in people’s faces’ about climate change
• North Yorkshire County Council finally declares climate emergency

Now, Elaine Gray, a government planning inspector, has approved the plan.

In a decision notice, she said the “substantial benefits” of renewable energy would outweigh the limited harm caused to the the character of the area.

Ms Gray said:

“I have identified some adverse impact to the landscape and scenic beauty of the ANOB, to which I attach great weight. However, the scope of this harm would at worst be minor and localised. 

“In addition, I am mindful that this harmful impact would be easily reversible. I have not been made aware of any other existing or consented solar developments in the area and saw none on my site visit. 

“As such, no harmful cumulative effect in the wider area would result from the proposal.”

A “historic” deal is set to unshackle Ripon from years of neglect by councillors in Harrogate, it was claimed today.

North Yorkshire Council‘s ruling executive agreed to set up a project team to oversee Ripon people taking control of Ripon Town Hall, the market place and car park, public toilets and the Wakeman’s House.

The assets were controlled by Harrogate Borough Council until it was abolished in April.

North Yorkshire Council agreed to trial local management as part of its commitment to what its Conservative leadership calls “double devolution”.

Councillor Andrew Williams, a member of the Conservative and Independents group who represents Ripon Minster and Moorside, praised the move at today’s meeting and launched an eviscerating attack on Harrogate Borough Council.

He said:

“This is for Ripon potentially a historic day in the building of a more constructive relationship with the unitary authority than it had previously with a rather fractured relationship that existed with Harrogate Borough Council.”

‘More grass on market than centre court at Wimbledon’

Cllr Williams said Ripon’s poor relationship with Harrogate led the city council to formulate “ambitious and complex” plans to take control of assets. He added:

“They all interlink to develop the central area of Ripon, which has sadly been neglected for some time.

“If you look at the Wakeman’s House that we are hoping to take ownership of, no work has been undertaken on that for over 10 years. The lease income from the business in there has been spent elsewhere.

“Ripon Town Hall last had maintenance carried out on it in 2004 when the queen visited.”

The Wakeman’s House 

Laughter was heard when Cllr Williams added:

“The market place will soon have more grass growing on it than the centre court at Wimbledon.”

He then criticised the decision to close public toilets at 9pm when the city encouraged visitors to watch the nightly hornblower ceremony. He added:

“We firmly believe Ripon people know Ripon better than anybody else and know best how to make it a success rather than it currently is, which is underachieving its potential.

“The people of Ripon and the council are firmly behind the principle of double devolution.”

Cllr Barbara Brodigan, a Liberal Democrat who represents Ripon Ure Bank and Spa, told the meeting she endorsed Cllr Williams’ comments.

The executive agreed unanimously to proceed with the proposals.

Knaresborough also set for more local control

North Yorkshire Council invited town and parish councils to submit expressions of interest to run local assets in November last year.

Harrogate was excluded from the process because it doesn’t have a town council and moves to set one up have been delayed by local Conservatives.

Twelve parish councils submitted expressions of interest.

Knaresborough Town Council and Ripon City Council were among those selected to advance their proposals, with a view to formally taking over on April 1 next year.

Knaresborough bid to manage the markets and assets associated with managing the market, such as road closure signs and tables.

But Little Ouseburn’s proposal to take charge of grass cutting of the green area outside Broomfield Cottages.was rejected because it “did not evidence legal competence”.

Read more:

• The Ripon Inn opens today after multi-million pound refurbishment
• 14 Harrogate town centre flats to go on market

Works to re-landscape Harrogate‘s Crescent Gardens have begun.

Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished in April, announced the revamp in February, shortly after the area hosted an ice rink and funfair last Christmas. The activities are due to return for a longer period this year.

A report at the time by Kirsty Stewart, the former council’s parks and ground maintenance manager, said “we would like to take the opportunity to upgrade the area to enable better accommodation of future events with less disruption to the planting in this area”.

It also added a three-year licence for the Christmas activities “will generate a minimum income of £37,500 per year.”

The report also said the area would be re-named The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Ground, but at the time of publication North Yorkshire Council had yet to confirm this will still happen.

Jonathan Clubb, the council’s head of parks and grounds, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are carrying out work as part of our ongoing management of Harrogate’s parks and grounds to maintain a vibrant, attractive location for residents and visitors.”

A steel rose arch will be installed today and climbing roses and flower beds will be planted in the coming weeks, Mr Clubb added.

The council also said the planting, which has cost £10,000, is part of the overall £21,000 budget that also included the costs of groundwork and materials.

This is the first redesign of Crescent Gardens since 1990, following the Gateshead Garden Festival, when the central glass structured was erected.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens to get £21,000 makeover and new name
• Graveleys of Harrogate for sale eight months after reopening

Plans to build 14 homes at Athelstan Court in Ripon have been withdrawn after North Yorkshire Council’s highways department objected.

Athelstan Court was originally part of Ripon College before being rented to HM Inland Revenue and used as offices until the organisation moved out in 2009. It was last occupied in 2013.

Harrogate Borough Council accepted a change of use application for the conversion of the main building into 16 flats this year.

Ripon-based Atzaro Box Clever Ltd hoped to develop an additional part of the former site into a mix of three and four-bedroom properties, with 30 per cent being classed as affordable.

Access to the homes was proposed from Kearsley Road, which joins the A6018 Palace Road.

However, North Yorkshire Council’s highways department said the roads within the site would not be suitable for development so the scheme should be refused.

It said:

“The roads within the site are, due to their poor alignments, poor junctions and lack of appropriate footways/lighting/turning area, considered unsuitable by the local highways authority and therefore refuse the application in its current form.”

The council said a number of amendments would need to be made including changing the placement of several properties to reduce speeds on site, introducing a crossing point and relocating visitor parking.

Read more:

• Ripon leisure centre work halted after ground movement detected
• Ripon’s South Lodge to reopen tomorrow

A £3.5 million scheme to stabilise the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon has been halted because of new suspected land movement.

Groundwork began in June following the discovery of a “void” beneath the former leisure centre building in the sinkhole-prone area.

Members have had to use a temporary gym in the car park and attend group classes at Hugh Ripley Hall in the city centre while remediation work takes place at the old building.

The new building, which includes a swimming pool, sauna and steam room has remained open.

The new building on the site remains open.

Work was due to finish in spring next year but the latest discovery may jeopardise that — and spark fresh questions about the wisdom of choosing the site and continuing to spend money stabilising the land despite sinkhole fears.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council if work had been halted after noticing a lack of activity in recent weeks.

Jo Ireland, the council’s assistant director for culture and leisure, said:

“Our contractors have temporarily paused groundworks at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre as a precautionary measure while they investigate and assess signs of movement that have appeared in the internal blockwork of the existing building.

“A specialist engineer has advised the movement is predominantly aesthetic with no grounds for concern over the safety of the building.

“We will be installing a monitoring system on site in the next few days to detect any further movement that may occur. This system will give us the data we need to allow us to restart work later this month.

“We would only need to pause work again should the monitoring system detect additional significant movement, at which point further assessment of the situation would take place.”

‘Throwing good money after bad’

In October last year Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, who also represents Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire Council, said it was time to stop “throwing good money after bad” and and “look for a suitable location for a new leisure centre to be built on sound land”.

He accused the now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council, which took the decision to build on the site, of “blindly and belligerently pouring money into propping up a centre that is nearly 30 years old and there is no guarantee that more funding won’t be needed after remediation works begin”.

Cllr Williams added:

“These works would take the total spending on this project to £18 million – some £8 million above the original budget – and they can’t continue ploughing money into this site, with its known history of ground stability issues, including a sinkhole that opened up on the leisure centre car park in 2018.”

Read more:

• £3.5 million remediation work underway at Ripon leisure centre
• Ripon leisure centre halts price increase due to ongoing work
• City councillors call for an end to spending on Ripon leisure centre

Councillors have approved a plan to convert former homeless hostel Cavendish House in Harrogate into six apartments.

The hostel on Robert Street was operated by Harrogate Borough Council from 1983 until its closure in November 2021.

In 2021, the council opened a new homeless centre called Fern House in Starbeck.

Cavendish House had nine bedsits which will be converted into six self-contained flats and sold by the council through shared ownership schemes.

A-two storey flat roof extension to the rear of the building will be demolished under the plans.

The application from North Yorkshire Council was considered by councillors on the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee last week.

Air source heat pumps will be fitted to the building but Paul Haslam, the Conservative councillor for Nidd Gorge and Bilton, said the council could do more to make it energy efficient for residents.

He said:

“We need to add a condition so that this is retrofitted to the highest standard, particularly as we own it”.

However, Cllr Haslam was told by council planning officer John Worthington that internal alternations were not planning matters.

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• Specialist menopause clinic to open in Harrogate

The decision to fit UPVC windows was criticised by Hannah Gostlow, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Knaresborough East, who said she would prefer them to choose wood.

But John Mann, the Conservative councillor for Pannal and Oatlands, said UPVC windows were cheaper and more effective than traditional windows.

He said:

“We do need to save the planet and try and reduce emissions. In my experience, what people are looking for is warm homes that save electricity and don’t cost a fortune to heat.

“One of the advantages of UPVC windows is they are really warm if they’re double-glazed and save on electricity bills. Wooden windows cost a fortune and they’re not very warm.”

The plans were approved by six votes to none with Cllr Gostlow abstaining.

Almost half a million pounds of taxpayers’ money is being spent on halving the number of litter bins in the Harrogate district.

Council staff are replacing 1,500 old bins with 775 new, larger bins.

Some dog walkers are upset because bins on popular routes have been taken away and replaced by ones alongside main roads that are easier to empty.

A freedom of information request by the Stray Ferret to North Yorkshire Council revealed the new bins cost £478,000.

The council said the cost of replacing the old bins would have been £339,000.

It estimated it will save £16,000 a year by no longer having to buy 240,000 bin liners because the new receptacles don’t require them.

It also expects to save between £17,000 to £19,000 a year because the new bins can be handled more efficiently by bin wagon. The council also expects to save an unspecified sum on fuel, because there are fewer bins to empty.

A new bin in Knox.

The freedom of information response by North Yorkshire Council said the management board at the now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council signed off the new system.

A spokesperson from the council’s environment directorate said:

“The main aim of the project was to reduce the number of duplicate journeys between different services.

“This does provide a level of savings, coupled with a benefit to the environment, through a reduction in annual mileage and almost eradicating the need for the 240,000 single-use liners used on the smaller bins.”

They added:

“It provides further benefits by allowing the streetscene team to provide a more proactive service in regard to littering, fly tipping, and the clearance of detritus.

“To achieve this, the old infrastructure, totalling close to 1500 bins, is being replaced with 775 new bins. With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together.”

Dog walkers in Knox, Jennyfields and Knaresborough have contacted the Stray Ferret with concerns about the new system.

A new bin on Jenny Field Drive.

In Jennyfields, where new bins have been sited on main roads rather than in the field near the leisure centre, Elizabeth Horner said “the amount of rubbish from having no bins in the area has got disgusting”.

Another dog walker, Diana Salama, said there was now “nowhere to easily dispose of poo”.

Under the new system, dog waste is no longer classified as hazardous waste and can be placed in any bin. This means dog waste can be placed in owners’ general waste bins.

Read more:

• Call for urgent review of new bins after dog poo bags litter Jennyfields
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A national telecommunications company has appealed a decision to refuse plans for a new 5G mast in Harrogate.

CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd, which operates Three Mobile, proposed installing the mast on Park Parade.

It submitted the plan to the former Harrogate Borough Council in November 2022.

The developer said the proposal would help to “improved network coverage and capacity” in the area.

However, the council rejected the plan on the grounds it would be detrimental to the visual amenity of the site.

John Worthington, who was chief planner at the council at the time, said in a decision notice:

“The proposed street pole, by virtue of its external appearance, scale and siting, would be a visually incongruous and alienated addition that would be detrimental to the visual amenity and character of the site and conservation area. 

“It would fail to respect local distinctiveness. This harm outweighs the benefits of the proposal in this location.”

CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd has now taken the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with planning disputes.

A planning inspector will make a decision on the appeal at a later date.

The move is the second time the company has appealed a decision to refuse a 5G mast in Harrogate.

The borough council also rejected a plan to build a mast at Granby Park, which is adjacent to the Stray by Skipton Road.

An appeal against the refusal was submitted by the company in July this year.

Read more:

• Plans for two masts to meet ‘acute need’ for 5G in Harrogate
• Harrogate council refuses plan for 5G mast overlooking the Stray