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Plans approved for 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks

Councillors have approved plans to build 1,300 homes at Ripon’s army barracks, subject to conditions.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee met this afternoon to consider an application from government housing agency Homes England, which has been developing the plans for several years alongside the Ministry of Defence.

Councillors were split over the scheme’s impact on roads in the city as well as whether historical military buildings on the site, which were used during both world wars, would be protected.

Votes were tied at six for and six against supporting the officer’s recommendation to defer the plans to officers to approve, subject to conditions.

This meant the committee’s chair, the Conservative councillor for Harrogate St Georges, Rebecca Burnett, cast the deciding vote to see the plans passed.

Clotherholme

The military is set to vacate the site in 2026 but phased work will now begin.

The housing scheme is called Clotherholme and also includes a new primary school, sports pitches, retail, food and drink units, and a 60-bed care home.

The site is home to the Royal Engineers and consists of Deverell Barracks to the east, Claro Barracks to the west and Laver Banks to the south.

Homes England says 3,000 people will live there to increase the population of Ripon by a fifth, although this does not take into account the loss of military personnel who have lived in the community for decades.

It’s expected that all the homes would be built by 2035 and 30% will be classed as affordable.

No new road

Campaigners have long raised fears about the impact on local roads and there have been calls to include a relief road via Galphay Road, but this was rejected.

Access to the site would be from Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road.

Homes England undertook traffic studies that predicted queues and delays at existing junctions if the homes were built, so changes to the Low Skellgate, Coltsgate Hill and Clock Tower junctions have been proposed as part of 28 alterations to the existing road network.

A new roundabout would also be created at the junction of Kirkby Road and Chatham Road.

‘Hell to drive through’

Liberal Democrat county councillor Barbara Brodigan spoke on behalf of Ripon Spa Residents’ Action Group against the plans.

Cllr Brodigan said she was not against the site being developed but objected to the number of homes proposed. She said a relief road should be built to accommodate any increase in traffic. She said:

“The city was founded 600 years ago and the layout of its streets and centre has hardly changed. It’s pretty to look at, but hell to drive through.

“The layout of the city’s streets was not designed for cars but for horses and carts and people on foot.”

A computer generated image of how Chatham Road and Napier Street in Ripon would look under the plans

Ripon Independent councillor for Ure Bank, Sid Hawke, said there was a question mark over the traffic surveys undertaken by the developer. He said:

“Have you been up Clotherholme Road at peak times? It’s absolute mayhem, you’re talking about putting 1,300 houses up there. Thats 2,000 cars on that road.”

David Rowlinson, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said highways and transport had been a “key issue” that Homes England and the MoD had worked through whilst developing the scheme. He said:

“We’re not new to this site, we’ve been working on it for five years. We’ve looked at this very thoroughly and worked with North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department to get their on-the-ground views.

“We feel we’ve robustly assessed the impacts and come up with the best solution possible for Ripon.

“North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed there is no defensible reason to refuse the application on highways and transport grounds.”

Military history

The barracks were originally built as a convalescent camp for troops during the First World War.

Thousands were housed there, including the wartime poet Wilfred Owen, who wrote some of his famous works there.

Jane Furse, on behalf of the Ripon Military Heritage Trust, asked councillors to defer the plans until a strategy had been produced that protected from demolition two training bridges and a hut, which has been called one of the best-surviving Second World War-era prefab structures.

However, the bridges and the hut are not protected under planning laws.

Ms Furse gave a history of the military’s involvement at the site spanning two world wars and the Cold War.

She added:

“We request robust, enforceable conditions are imposed to protect our internationally significant heritage.”

Historic England raised “strong concerns” over the demolition of the hut but it has been decided that it can’t be retained because of asbestos, which HBC officer Andy Hough called “extremely regrettable”.

Homes England said it is committed to working with Ripon Military Heritage Group on studies to resolve what happens to the buildings.

Mr Rowlinson said:

“We give a commitment that until issues are resolved and a strategy is developed, structures will not be destroyed.

“We’re happy to do that, we need to work through the process with the group.”

‘Evidence-based decision’

The Conservative councillor for Ripon Spa and cabinet member for housing, Mike Chambers, who is also a former serviceman, said he supported “the majority” of the scheme but there are “clear issues” with the traffic assessment, so he would not be supporting the proposal.

Cllr Chambers claimed the changes to the Low Skellgate junction, banning right turns, “will only seek to exacerbate the situation”.

Conservative council leader Richard Cooper, who was on the planning committee today as a substitute, said rejecting the plans on transport grounds would risk a costly appeal.

In 2022, HBC had to pay £25,000 in costs after the authority was taken to appeal over its rejection of the Leon drive thru on Wetherby Road. Cllr Cooper said:

“You go and sit before an appeal and say to them ‘I drove down that road once and it was busy’, they’ll laugh at you.

“They did it with the Leon application, they laughed at us because there was no evidence to back up a refusal on traffic grounds and we lost the cost of the appeal because of that.”

Cllr Cooper added:

“If we aren’t a planning committee that bases our deliberations upon evidence, then we arent fit to be a planning committee at all. All our decisions should be evidence-based.”

The applicant has agreed to pay £4,694,875 to North Yorkshire County Council to go towards local primary and secondary schools.

It will also pay £907,267 to the NHS to support healthcare facilities.

Developer apologises for debris in River Crimple at Spofforth

A housing developer has apologised after debris from its site near Harrogate entered a nearby waterway.

Polystyrene and plastic from the 72-home Yorkshire Housing site at Spofforth was floating in the River Crimple in the village over the weekend.

Yorkshire Housing was granted permission to build the homes at Massey Fold in October 2021 after a long-running campaign by some villagers against the development.

Litter strewn across the river and the nearby area. Pic: @spofforthmark

The organisation, which owns and manages about 20,000 homes, said in a statement:

“On Friday, some insulation blew open in the high winds and broke up. The contractor notified the Environment Agency straight away to let them know what had happened.

“Because of the stormy weather over the weekend it wasn’t safe to retrieve and clear-up the debris until this morning. We’re working quickly to do this.

“Windy weather isn’t an excuse and this shouldn’t have happened. We’ve discussed this with the contractor who will ensure any loose materials are secure to prevent this happening again.”

Signs on site say the development, known as Bridgewell, will consist of two, three and four-bedroom homes built in partnership with construction company the Jack Lunn Group and the non-departmental housing agency Homes England.

Villager Mark Lee raised concerns about the incident on social media.

Devastating pollution in Spofforth today, waste and debris from the new development by @JackLunnGroup @HomesEngland @yhousing @EdwardArch the river Crimple is actually blocked by your mismanagement and carelessness! @ClimateDesk @thestrayferret @Harrogate_News @UnderwaterMedia pic.twitter.com/IiszgX96hV

— mark lee (@spofforthmark) February 19, 2023

Conservationist Keith Wilkinson, who is chairman of Nidd Gorge Advisory Partnership and honorary secretary of Bilton Conservation Group, said the incident reinforced the need to look holistically at problems associated with Harrogate’s three rivers — the Nidd, Crimple and Oak Beck.

Mr Wilkinson said contamination from the Nidd tributaries inevitably impacted on the Nidd itself and therefore it would be better to adopt a more strategic view to managing water quality.

1,300-home Ripon housing scheme set to be approved

A scheme to build 1,300 homes on historic army barracks in Ripon looks set to be approved next week.

Harrogate Borough Council officers have recommended its planning committee gives the scheme the go-ahead when it meets on Thursday.

If councillors vote to accept the recommendation, it will see Ripon’s population increase by almost 20%, with an estimated 3,000 people expected to occupy the new homes.

Building work is likely to continue until 2035 and 30% of homes would be deemed ‘affordable’.

The 85 hectare-scheme would also include a new primary school and sports pitches as well as shops, restaurants and offices that could support up to 678 jobs.

However, there are concern about the impact on health services, the road network and the loss of key sites of military history.

The report to councillors concludes:

“The proposed development will deliver a range of significant public benefits that demonstrate compliance with adopted policies and the aspirations of the Ripon Neighbourhood Plan.”

Payments for health and schools

Applicants the Secretary of State for Defence and Homes England, a non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England, which are behind the proposal, have agreed to pay a minimum of £907,267 for health care facilities as part of a section 106 agreement developers pay to fund infrastructure costs associated with their schemes.

The agreement would also see the developers pay £2.7 million for primary school education and £1.9 million for secondary school education.

A two-form primary school with a playing field would be built on the site.

A computer generated image of the proposed Ripon barracks site.

Development would take place on the sites of Claro Barracks, Laver Banks and Deverell Barracks, which played key roles in the First and Second World Wars.

The report acknowledges “strong concerns” over the demolition of Deverell Barracks, which according to the non-departmental public body Historic England contains buildings that make it ‘one of the best surviving WWII temporary standardised prefabricated sites’.

The report says the developers would ‘explore retention of these structures’ but adds there are ‘significant issues with their re-use’ due to the presence of asbestos and concludes there is no ‘certainty of retention’.

Part of the current site

The significance of two military bridges on Laver Banks became apparent recently following research by Ripon Military Heritage Group and the report says the applicants have “confirmed a commitment to keep on working together” with the group.

The report says the highways authority, North Yorkshire County Council, “considers there is no defensible reason to refuse the application on highway or transportation grounds” in the wake of proposed highways changes.

Plans confirm football pitches will be lost in 200-home Harrogate scheme

New plans for 200 homes at the Harrogate’s former police training centre confirm that four sports pitches will be lost as part of the development.

The plans from Homes England and Countryside Properties include the conversion of several former training centre buildings into 16 homes and building 184 new properties.

Homes England, which is the government’s housing agency, already had permission to build 161 homes on the site but wanted to increase this by 23% to 200 homes by building on three planned football pitches and one cricket field.

To make up for the loss of sports facilities, it offered £595,000 towards Pannal Community Park on Leeds Road through a section 106 agreement that was backed by Sport England.

Harrogate Borough Council granted outline permission for the scheme to go ahead in December 2021.

Homes England appointed Countryside Properties in a £63m contract to build the homes and a reserved matters application has now been submitted for the scheme. This includes details such as landscaping, how the homes will look, and the site layout.

A planning statement says:

“Careful consideration has been given to the detailed design of the proposal to ensure that it creates a high-quality and distinctive development that establishes a strong sense of place and provides an attractive and comfortable place to live.”

Although there will no longer be football or cricket pitches there, the developer has included some open space at the south of the site for the public to use.

Detailed plans have now been submitted for the site

Thirty per cent of the homes will be affordable and they will be spread across the site.

The existing cast iron gates and stone gateposts located off the main driveway will be retained as an entrance feature to a new ‘village green’.

The main access will be created via a new priority junction on Yew Tree Lane. This will also provide the starting point for a new cycle route that will run the development.

The developer delivered leaflets about the application to 363 residents and businesses in the area before submission.

The former police site on Yew Tree Lane was used as a base to train more than 1,200 officers a year before it closed in 2011.

Decision on 1,300-home Ripon barracks scheme could be made this month

A decision on whether to build a major 1,300-home scheme on an army barracks in Ripon could be made within weeks.

The scheme, which has been submitted by government housing agency Homes England, would see houses built on Claro Barracks off Clotherholme Road.

The proposal was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in September 2020, but has yet to be decided.

Council officials have now said the scheme could come to the authority’s planning committee this month after negotiations over NHS contributions were nearing an end.

Trevor Watson, the council’s director of economy and culture, told an overview and scrutiny commission meeting on Monday that developer contributions for health was the “last big issue” to overcome.

He said:

“We are confident that we are now approaching the final negotiations in relation to what was the last big issue that has caused a few problems.

“That is the level of contributions towards health provision. We are nearing an agreement on that, I think.

“That will allow us to bring forward the application for determination by Harrogate Borough Council at a special planning committee, we hope on February 23 and we also hope with a recommendation of approval.”

Claro Barracks

Mr Watson added the scheme was a “once in a generation opportunity” to develop a brownfield site included in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished at the end of next month and succeeded by the new North Yorkshire Council.

The negotiations over developer contributions come after NHS managers in North Yorkshire objected to the scheme because of concerns about the amount of funding that would be provided for local healthcare.

In a letter to the council, Andrew Dangerfield, head of primary care transformation at NHS Humber & North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, said the method used by Homes England to assess healthcare need as a result of the new homes was “at odds” with the NHS.

He added the developer had offered “zero” section 106 contributions to help mitigate demand as a result of increased population due to the scheme.

Mr Dangerfield said:

“The integrated care board is concerned about Homes England’s overall approach to health, they have sought to provide zero section 106 contributions towards the provision of healthcare infrastructure on a development of significant scale (circa 3,000 people), using a methodology which is at odds with the NHS commissioners and local healthcare partners.

“The integrated care board, who has direct expert knowledge of the local surgeries in the area and is responsible for the commissioning of healthcare services have consistently outlined that the existing practices do not have capacity to absorb the population created by the 1,300 homes coming forward as part of this application, and therefore have requested mitigation in the form of a section 106 contribution.”

Mr Dangerfield added that should no contributions towards healthcare be made, then the development “cannot be considered sustainable”.

In October 2020, NHS North Yorkshire CCG – which preceded the integrated care board – said in a letter to the borough council that it was seeking £553,128 from Homes England in contributions to health.

The planned homes in Ripon will include a significant number of two and three-bedroom mid-range houses and will include apartments in the centre.

It also includes a community centre, employment space, shops, parkland, a new primary school and sports facilities.

NHS objects to planned 1,300-home development on Ripon barracks

NHS managers in North Yorkshire have objected to a proposed 1,300-home scheme on the Ripon barracks site due to funding concerns for local healthcare.

The scheme, which has been submitted by government housing agency Homes England, would see houses built on the site off Clotherholme Road.

The Clotherholme development would encompass Claro Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Laver Banks.

The proposal was submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in September 2020.

However, in a letter to the authority, NHS Humber & North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board has objected to the plan.

Andrew Dangerfield, head of primary care transformation at the organisation, said the method used by Homes England to assess healthcare need as a result of the new homes was “at odds” with the NHS.

He added that the developer had offered “zero” section 106 contributions to help mitigate demand as a result of increased population due to the scheme.

Mr Dangerfield said:

“The ICB is concerned about Homes England’s overall approach to health, they have sought to provide zero S106 contributions towards the provision of healthcare infrastructure on a development of significant scale (circa 3,000 people), using a methodology which is at odds with the NHS commissioners and local healthcare partners.

“The ICB, who has direct expert knowledge of the local surgeries in the area and is responsible for the commissioning of healthcare services have consistently outlined that the existing practices do not have capacity to absorb the population created by the 1,300 homes coming forward as part of this application, and therefore have requested mitigation in the form of a S106 contribution.”

Mr Dangerfield added that should no contributions towards healthcare be made, then the development “cannot be considered sustainable”.

The Stray Ferret has asked Homes England to comment on the concerns, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

The planned homes in Ripon will include a significant number of two- and three-bedroom mid-range houses and will include apartments in the centre.

It also includes a community centre, employment space, shops, parkland, a new primary school and sports facilities.

A decision on the scheme is expected to be made by Harrogate Borough Council at a later date.

‘Where’s the infrastructure?’: New councillor queries 480-home Bluecoat Wood plan

Questions remain about how an extra 480 homes near Harlow Hill will impact roads, schools and doctor’s surgeries, according to the new councillor for the area.

Homes England last week submitted plans for the development at Bluecoat Wood opposite Cardale Park.

The site covers 28 hectares of largely green fields and the homes would wrap around horticultural charity Horticap.

The proposals include new cricket and football pitches.

A mix of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses are proposed for the site. Homes England says 40% of the houses will be allocated as “affordable”.

“Fed up with housebuilding”

Michael Schofield is the Liberal Democrat councillor for Harlow & St George’s on North Yorkshire County Council, after being elected this month.

The councillor, who is also the landlord of the Shepherd’s Dog pub, claims there is “no provision” in the plans for services that residents will use.

Cllr Schofield said:

“Don’t get me wrong, the idea of playing fields and a cricket pitch is great, but you do have to think about extra traffic and infrastructure.

“There’s no provision for services. I’d like to see more planning for residents.

“Yes the homes look attractive, but there’s no clear plan for infrastructure. I don’t want them to do anything until they have one.”

Cllr Schofield said there is strong feeling locally about the scale and speed of housebuilding.

“I see residents out walking their dogs and it’s the main issue people are telling me, they are fed up of seeing building site after building site.”

Last month, a separate application was submitted by Anwyl Land and national housebuilder Redrow Homes for 780 homes on fields opposite Bluecoat Wood on Otley Road.

At Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association‘s (Hapara) AGM in April, the group’s secretary David Siddans said residents are bracing themselves for “15 years of disruption” due to the sheer number of homes that will be built in phases around Otley Road.

Hapara has been highly critical of the delayed West Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP), a document drawn up by Harrogate Borough Council that is supposed to address the infrastructure associated with the different housing developments.

A final version of the plan has yet to be signed off by the council.

The plan will also be supplemented with an ‘infrastructure delivery document’ to nail down the infrastructure requirements in greater detail, but it’s yet to see the light of day.

‘Pause a decision’

Mr Siddans called on Harrogate Borough Council to pause any decision on Bluecoat Wood until the infrastructure delivery document is published.

He said:

“Hapara accepts that the principle of development on this site has been established through the Local Plan process, but considers it essential that the proposals are considered in the wider context of the whole western arc expansion, particularly regarding infrastructure provision, sustainability, landscape protection and adherence to net zero carbon targets.

“Low building density, high-quality design and appropriate housing mix with tree-lined streets are also matters that we will be looking at in our response. That is why no decisions should be made on this application or any of the adjacent sites until the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan is finalised, including the detail of the infrastructure delivery plan.”

Mr Siddans’s words were echoed by Cllr Howard West, chair of Beckwithshaw and Haverah Parish Council.

He said:

“The parish council’s standpoint is that the application should not even be logged, let alone considered, until the infrastructure delivery plan part of the WHPP has been finalised and approved.”

Homes England

A planning statement by Homes England says the development has been guided by the WHPP.

It says the sports pitch will be used by local schools, improving facilities for the area’s children.

On transport, it says the development will eventually link up with the Otley Road Cycle Path and an existing bus service to Cardale Park.

“The site has a good level of accessibility with Harrogate town centre, via a comprehensive network of footways and cycleways and is within a short cycling distance of Harrogate town centre.

“There are existing bus services which are accessible from the site and offer a relatively frequent level of services and Harrogate Rail Station, Hornbeam Rail Station and Pannal Rail Station which can be accessed as part of a multi-modal journey to [and] from the site.”

Homes England submits 480-home Otley Road plan

Homes England has submitted formal plans for 480 homes at Bluecoat Wood opposite Cardale Park.

The government housing agency bought the site on Otley Road last year after a previous scheme stalled.

The plans follow a public consultation which was held in December 2021.

Documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council show that the site is set to be called Bluecoat Park.

The site covers 28 hectares of largely green fields and the homes would wrap around Horticap.

The proposals include plans for a new cricket pitch, which would also act as a village green. The pitch would be used by Pannal Ash Cricket Club.

The site layout for the homes at Bluecoat Wood.

A “football hub” would also be created, which would include changing rooms, a full-size pitch, a youth pitch and two mini pitches, along with car parking.

A new community woodland would also be planted.

As part of the plans, a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses are proposed for the site. Homes England says in its plans that 40% of the houses will be allocated as affordable.

The housing agency said in its planning documents:

“The proposed development at Bluecoat Park provides a most important opportunity to deliver a new sustainable and thriving community which will form part of the proposed new urban extension to west Harrogate.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

To view the full details, click here and search using reference 22/01558/EIAMAJ.

Site history

Housing has been mooted at Bluecoat Wood for many years.

In February 2016, the borough council granted planning permission to a partnership of developers called HTH Harrogate LLP to build 450 homes.

It followed an earlier refusal of permission on the grounds of road safety and traffic flow problems.

However, Homes England bought the site in February 2021 after the developer pulled out.

That summer, Homes England submitted an environmental impact assessment for 530 homes on the site. The number has now been reduced to 480.

Plans for 1,300 homes could leave Ripon in ‘perpetual gridlock’

Homes England will not be allowed to ‘ride roughshod’ over the wishes of people in Ripon and must renew consultation with the city council.

That was the unanimous view this week of elected members, who have described the proposed traffic plan for the 1,300-home Clotherholme development on the barracks site as ‘unacceptable’.

Speaking at Monday’s city council meeting, Conservatives Stuart Martin and Mike Chambers, who are also district and county councillors, joined Conservative parish councillors and the ruling Independents in voicing concerns.

Cllr Martin said:

“At the outline planning stage, this is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we have to get things right on the traffic front.

“If we don’t, the city will suffer the consequences for years to come.”

City centre roads ‘at capacity’

Cllr Chambers added:

“The city centre roads are at capacity and we must make it known to Harrogate Borough Council that this plan does not work and will not work, if Homes England doesn’t come forward with new traffic mitigation measures.”

Homes England, which is the government housing agency also owns the West Lane site in Ripon where 390 homes will be built by Taylor Wimpey after outline planning permission was granted last month.

City council leader Andrew Williams said:

“Between the two sites they have almost 1,700 houses and I recommend that we say we are willing to accept 800 homes at Clotherholme and hold back on making a decision on the other 500 until this council is satisfied that Homes England has properly and thoroughly addressed the traffic issue.

“We will not allow people who don’t live in Ripon to make decisions from afar that ride roughshod over the wishes of local residents, who don’t want a city that is in perpetual gridlock.”

Photo of the Somerset Row, Low Skellgate junction

The busy junction of Somerset Row with High and Low Skellgate, where vehicles would not be able to turn right under the Homes England traffic plan.

“One of the unacceptable proposals in the plan is to prevent traffic at the junction of Somerset Row with Low Skellgate from turning right, meaning a detour for thousands of motorists a week.”

Cllr Williams’ proposed staged approach to handling planning for the Clotherholme scheme, was supported by all councillors, who also called for Harrogate planners and Homes England to come to the city council to hear the views of members.

Cllr Pauline McHardy said;

“We haven’t met with them for over a year and it’s about time for them to get around the table with us, so we can let them know about the concerns people from all parts of the city are expressing about the traffic impact that the barracks site will have.”

Support for Ripon Military Heritage Trust

Prior to their discussion about the Clotherholme scheme, Christopher Hughes, chairman of Ripon Civic Society and Alan Skidmore, a trustee of the the Ripon Military Heritage Trust, addressed the council.

They provided an update on proposals to seek protection for historically-significant structures at the barracks site, which are currently threatened with demolition to make way for the new homes development.

It was agreed that in its correspondence with Harrogate planners, the city council will confirm that the trust’s proposals have the unanimous support of the council.

Ripon’s rich military history threatened by 1,300-home barracks scheme

Key parts of Ripon’s military past could be demolished to make way for the proposed 1,300-home development at the city’s barracks.

Homes England is seeking outline planning permission for the Clotherholme housing scheme, which would be the biggest single residential development in Ripon’s history.

Ripon Civic Society has now highlighted the potential loss of rare items that are part of Ripon and the UK’s military heritage.

The vital role Ripon’s military establishment played in both world wars and the Cold War has been highlighted in new research by the society.

Christopher Hughes, its chairman of the society, said:

“The site at Laver Banks is important in the history of Ripon’s past and in the defence of Britain in World War II and since.

“We have done detailed work on the Homes England proposals for the whole of the army camp site. We encourage them, and Harrogate Borough Council, to take a revised look at proposals for demolition of some of the structures our research has identified, and to protect them for the future.”

The society has been closely engaged in the planning process and has been keen to stress the importance of the last remaining remnants of the city’s vast World War I camp, in which the poet Wilfred Owen was stationed.

The heavy girder bridge, which crosses the River Laver on the Barracks site, was the next generation of the bridge designed by Sir Donald Bailey.

Setting up Ripon Military Heritage Trust to aid further research, it has now discovered that from the start of World War II the remaining site was the test-bed for developing and trialling demountable bridges, including the world-famous Bailey bridge.

The School of Military Engineering was evacuated from Chatham in Kent to Ripon at the start of the war.

Military heritage structures

Ripon architectural historian, lecturer and writer, David Winpenny, who is a vice-president of the society, said:

“As well as providing training for engineers on the Bailey bridge, the school also developed the massive Bailey Suspension Bridge, capable of spanning up to 400 feet.

“It was tested in Ripon at the Laver Banks site of Ripon Camp by British, Canadian and American troops before being deployed in Burma and other theatres of war.

“From 1946 a new heavy girder bridge was developed; by 1955 60 had been ordered. The first to be put in place was over the River Ure in Ripon. It was mainly used in West Germany as well as in Malaya.

“Development continued in the following decades. The only surviving heavy girder bridge was installed in Ripon as late as 1992.

“Ripon also has the larger of only two surviving k‘demolition’ training bridges, designed with cavities in which explosives could be packed to eliminate the bridges before an enemy assault.

Mr Winpenny added:

“As well as these rare survivals, and the still-extant infrastructure of the testing site, the Ripon Camp also has the last four Twynam Huts remaining; these were the successors to the Nissan Huts and were developed in 1959 for use as accommodations for personnel, offices and stores.

“They were deployed worldwide, including in Cyprus, Aden and Libya, as well as on Ascension Island during the Falklands War and at Long Kesh Camp in Northern Ireland.”

‘Amazing how significant Ripon was’

The society has shared its findings with Homes England, which is responsible for the transition of the site from army camp to housing and employment site, and with Harrogate Borough Council, which will determine the planning application.

It has said that these significant but vulnerable remnants of Ripon’s military past require special protection as part of the planning process. The society wants to work closely with all parties to establish a community legacy for Ripon and the wider area by promoting and interpreting the site.

Guy Wilson, creator of the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds, and one of the Ripon Military Heritage Trust trustees, said:

“It is amazing how significant this quiet part of North Yorkshire was in the Second World War. What was happening in Ripon helped us to win the war and our research has discovered how important Ripon was in the development and perfection of the Bailey bridge and its successors.

“It is a story hitherto unknown but one very worth telling and remembering.”

Clotherholme

No new road

‘Hell to drive through’

Military history

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‘Evidence-based decision’

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Payments for health and schools

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“Fed up with housebuilding”

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‘Pause a decision’

Homes England

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Site history

City centre roads ‘at capacity’

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Support for Ripon Military Heritage Trust

Military heritage structures

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‘Amazing how significant Ripon was’