Stanley Mackintosh, who called for a referendum on Ripon Cathedral’s £8m annexe, has withdrawn from the process and requested the parish meeting that was due to debate his own proposals be cancelled.

However, the meeting at Holy Trinity Church is still set to take place on Monday at 6pm without his support.

This is because a notice has already been published and advertised, according to Ripon City Council.

Mr Mackintosh told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he would not participate in the meeting after he received legal advice related to an alleged assault on him last year. The incident is under investigation by North Yorkshire Police following a complaint by Mr Mackintosh.

A police spokesperson confirmed a man voluntarily attended an interview and was released under investigation to allow further enquiries to take place.

Mr Mackintosh told the LDRS he now wants to take a “back seat” as it would “not be appropriate” to comment publicly on cathedral matters at present.

It now means the referendum, also called a parish poll, is unlikely to take place and the parish meeting could be a short one.

Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the LDRS that it was “not Stanley Mackintosh’s meeting to cancel so it will have to go ahead”.

He said the council had booked the church at a cost of £400 which would have to be honoured. He described the parish poll proposals as a “complete waste of council time and resources”.

Cllr Williams suggested that Mr Mackintosh had lost the support of the 10 people needed at the meeting to call the poll. However, Mr Mackintosh disputed this and said he was confident he would still have had the backing.

Earlier today, the Save the Trees campaign group issued a statement that came out against the parish meeting and poll.

It said:

“We feel that this public meeting and this poll both detract from the main issue of saving the trees and we are concerned that this process would serve only to fuel the existing and often toxic dissension within the city.”

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A rare Ripon parish meeting will take place on Monday evening at Holy Trinity Church where residents will debate the cathedral’s £8m proposed annexe.

If at the meeting just 10 Ripon residents on the electoral roll vote in favour of a referendum, also called a parish poll, it would then take place, likely in April.

Kirkgate resident Stanley Mackintosh is behind the meeting, which starts at 6pm.

He called the poll a “very powerful democratic device” that he hopes will encourage the cathedral to find a solution to its annexe plans that has the support of the public.

It wouldn’t be legally binding but would include around 10 yes or no questions on topics including the felling of trees, open space and impact on businesses.

The planning application submitted to North Yorkshire Council has proved divisive and it’s believed TV crews from both the BBC and Channel 4 are planning to film the meeting.

Mr Mackintosh said:

“This fine setting can help present Ripon at its best as Ripon residents and surrounding communities work constructively together. All are eligible and welcome to attend and contribute to this meeting, whether Ripon electors or not, but only Ripon electors may vote at this Ripon parish meeting.”

At a full meeting of Ripon City Council this month, councillors voted unanimously to denounce the referendum in a motion that described it as a “waste of money”.

However, it will still have to pay the costs of the poll which could be around £10,000.

At a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon councillors on Thursday, Cllr Andrew Williams (Conservative and Independents Group, Ripon Minster and Moorside) raised the cost of the parish poll with Conservative MP for Ripon Julian Smith.

Cllr Williams said parish polls are intended for smaller, village parish councils whereas Ripon has 7,000 residents. He added:

“Can I ask you to press the minister responsible to bring forward legislation that protects parish councils the size of Ripon from this abuse of process.”

Mr Smith did not comment on the specifics of the annexe referendum but said he would write to ministers on “the general issue” of cost.

Regarding the application, Mr Smith added:

“The cathedral is a huge draw to the city and I hope we can get something everybody can support.”

Ripon Cathedral says the proposed annexe on an area of public space called Minster Gardens is crucial to offer 21st-century facilities including a cafe whilst safeguarding the future of its choir.

But it has paused its planning application to North Yorkshire Council in order to take stock and listen to suggestions from the public following criticism of the new building’s location, the felling of 11 trees and its impact on local businesses.

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Holy Trinity Church of England School in Ripon is holding an elf-themed day today in memory of a pupil who was killed in a fatal collision on the A61.

Six-year-old Ihor Bartieniev, who was Ukrainian, died as a result of a collision on the road between Ripon and Harrogate in September.

Ihor’s mother Daria Bartienieva, 35, and stepsister Anastasiia Bartienieva, 15, were also killed in the crash.

To celebrate his life, pupils and staff are invited to dress up as elves, wear elf hats or simply wear red and green non-uniform clothing.

Children will take part in the school’s trinity trot, whereby pupils run laps of the playing fields, and activities organised by older pupils.

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In addition, the school has asked pupils to bring a donation which will fund a story-telling chair in Ihor’s honour.

Headteacher of Holy Trinity School, Sue Sanderson, said:

“Ihor always had great tales to tell, so a story-telling chair seems a fitting way to celebrate his life.

“It will travel through school with his classmates.”

Ms Sanderson also described Ihor as being “so full of fun and sparkle”.

Ripon’s St Cecilia Orchestra opens its 2023/24 season on Saturday (November 11) with a programme, featuring the work of three major composers.

Beginning with Grieg’s ever-popular Holberg Suite and culminating in Tchaikovsky’s virtuosic tour-de-force for strings: Souvenir de Florence, the concert at Holy Trinity Church will also include Benjamin Britten’s atmospheric song cycle exploring the calm and sinister aspects of night: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.

The Holberg Suite  harks back to the music of the 1700s but with a distinctly Romantic twist. It is one of most readily recognisable pieces of the string orchestra repertoire, with its rhythmic and driving opening Prelude, lyrical Sarabande and boisterous Rigaudon (featuring sparkling solos from the first violin and viola).

Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings was composed for his partner, Peter Pears and horn player Dennis Brain, who premiered the work together in 1943.

The 6 sung movements draw on poetry from across the ages, from an anonymous writer in the 1400s through to Blake, Keats and Tennyson, framed at the opening and close by two movements played by the horn alone.

St Cecilia Orchestra will accompany soloist performances from Yorkshire tenor, Nicholas Watts, known to local audiences for his work with Opera North and French horn player, Catherine Hewitt, who enjoys a busy freelance career across the north of England.

After the interval the orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence. Originally composed for string sextet, but often played by full string orchestra, this is a hugely challenging work, which reflects the composer’s delight in writing for string instruments.

A real virtuosic tour-de-force, promises to send the audience away musically fulfilled and uplifted

Tickets for the concert priced at £20 for adults and free for under 18s can be obtained online from Ticket Source (www.ticketsource.co.uk/st-cecilia), They can also be purchased in person from Harrogate Theatre and the Little Ripon Bookshop, or can be bought on the door from 7pm on Saturday.

The choice of music signals a busy Saturday evening for the string section of the orchestra (pictured above) Picture: St Cecelia Orchestra

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A Ripon church will open today to let people say prayers and light candles for a mother and her two children killed in a car crash on Sunday.

Holy Trinity Church will welcome staff, parents and children from nearby Holy Trinity School and anyone else who knew those who died.

The church said in a post online:

“A space has been created where people can sit quietly, light a candle and write in a condolence book.

“There will be someone available to pray with you if you would like this.

“If you do come please keep quiet at this sensitive time.”

Police said yesterday three people died in a three-vehicle crash that involved a double decker bus on the A61 Ripon Road near South Stainley at 2.20pm on Sunday.

It was the second fatal collision on the road between Ripon and Harrogate on consecutive weekends.

The church said the victims, who have not been named yet by police, were three members of a Ukrainian family living in Ripon.

It said the mother was aged 35 and had lost her husband in February this year.

Her 15-year-old daughter, who had only been in the country for five weeks, and her six-year-old son also died, the church added.

It urged people to pray for the sole remaining daughter and her family abroad.

A fundraising page for the girl has already raised more than £5,000. You can donate here.

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Two charities are set to benefit from a Last Night of the Proms concert being staged by the Rotary Club of Ripon at the city’s Holy Trinity Church.

Ripon Community Link Walled Garden and Yorkshire Dales Motor Neurone Disease Support Group will share proceeds from the sale of tickets for the event being held on June 30.

The concert will feature soloist Jessa Liversidge, accompanied by Ripon City Band and include a performance by the community link Sing and Sign Choir.

Event organiser Wendy Richardson said:

“During pandemic the café  at the walled garden had to close to become a classroom as members had to be taught in small groups.

“When the pandemic ended it was decided that it would give members wider life-skills and more catering opportunities to convert the café to a proper catering kitchen. This is working well with members preparing food to sell at the shop and outdoor café which of course had to close in the winter months.”

The foundations are being put in place for the new development at Ripon Walled Garden

She added:

“Planning permission has been granted for the new café and shop and work is already under way, with the aim of opening later in the summer. funds permitting.”

David Stubley, Rotary Club of Ripon’s new president, who takes over the post at the end of June, lost his father to MND and this prompted him to choose Yorkshire Dales Motor Neurone Disease Support Group as one of his charities for 2023/24

There are at least six known sufferers of MND in Ripon alone and the club wants to help by contributing to the ever-growing research funds raised by rugby players Rob Burrows, Kevin Sinfield and the late Doddie Weir.

Tickets for the June 30 concert cost £14 and can be obtained by clicking here.

They can also be purchased from The Little Ripon Bookshop on Westgate and Stuff 4 Business on Fishergate.

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