Stray Ferret backs campaign to save Ripon’s military heritageThe Stray Ferret is today backing a campaign by Ripon Military Heritage Trust to save key parts of the city’s military history.
Government agency Homes England has planning permission to build 1,300 homes on army barracks at Clotherholme.
But there are fears it will bulldoze sites of international significance, including huts built by Neville Chamberlain’s government in 1939 and training bridges that shaped international warfare, to make way for the housing.
The trust accepts the homes will be built but is campaigning to preserve a number of surviving structures on a site at Laver Banks.
It wants to repurpose huts that would otherwise be demolished not just for heritage reasons but also so they can be used for employment and community use.
They would then feature in a newly created military heritage centre and a military heritage trail that would tell the story of Ripon’s part in international warfare.
We have launched a petition urging people to back the campaign to save Ripon’s military heritage.
If 500 people sign then North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee will be obliged to debate it, which will present an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue.
You can sign here.
The trust has adopted the campaign slogan ‘heritage worth fighting for’.
Trustee Michael Furse said:
“The wooden militia camp is unique because it is the last one standing.
“We are not proposing to stop the development. What we are saying is we would like to preserve some of the most important structures from it on a different site.
“We would then like to display those structures in a way that shows them off in a cohesive manner.”
The campaign will run up to the 80th anniversary celebrations of D-Day when Winston Churchill’s great grandson will be in Ripon for the city’s commemorations.
John Plummer, editor of the Stray Ferret, said:
“We fully support this campaign. Ripon’s military heritage should be treasured — not destroyed.”
In the weeks ahead we will provide updates on the campaign and, with the help of the trust, tell the remarkable story of Ripon’s vital role in defending Britain over the years.
Read more:
Ripon campaigners prepare for post D-Day battle with the bulldozers
Planning update
Last week, the government agencies Homes England and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation provided an update on the Clotherholme proposals in a planning report published on North Yorkshire Council’s website.
The report pledged to “work with the Ripon Military Heritage Trust on a heritage strategy which will balance the urgent need for new homes for local people with a strategy for preserving and recording the unique history and heritage of the barracks”.
The trust’s continuing concerns
But the trust, which has launched a website as part of a campaign to preserve key aspects of the site, believes the agencies have shown little desire to co-operate since Harrogate Borough Council granted planning permission in February last year and their pledges remain vague and opaque.
Trust chairman Guy Wilson said:
“We are hugely disappointed that after 15 months of engagement with Homes England, the current outline planning application lacks any provision for the preservation of even a single example of the rare and unique huts at Deverell Barracks.
“Neither has any land been allocated to allow for the relocation and re-use of these heritage assets. Both were specific requests that the Harrogate Borough Council planning committee called for in February 2023.
“It has sadly become apparent that none of the parties to this development has any real interest in preserving the heritage of the site and none has made any attempt to work constructively with us. All they are interested in is appearing to do enough to get their present plans passed without alteration, in which case the result will be that significant heritage assets will be lost and this we very much regret.”
The planning update said the housing scheme will preserve the main military roads and names as well as provide information signs
Trustee Michael Furse told the Stray Ferret:
“The city has a rich and deep military history and has enjoyed a long and close relationship with the Royal Engineers.
“We and many Ripon residents strongly believe that the important heritage assets at the barracks site are worth fighting for.”
Main image: Field-Marshal Montgomery recognised the important role that Ripon’s Royal Engineers played in the installation of Bailey Bridges, such as this one in Italy. Picture Wikipedia
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New Clotherholme plans heighten fears for Ripon’s military heritageThe organisation fighting to save Ripon’s military heritage from being bulldozed has said it is “hugely disappointed” about updated plans for the 1,300-home Clotherholme housing scheme.
Government agencies Homes England and the Defence infrastructure Organisation provided the update in a planning report published on North Yorkshire Council’s website last week.
The homes will be built at the barracks site which contains internationally significant military structures, including huts constructed in 1939 when Neville Chamberlain’s government prepared for war with Germany and training bridges that influenced global warfare.
The demolition training bridge. Pic: Ripon Military Heritage Trust
The report pledged to “work with the Ripon Military Heritage Trust on a heritage strategy which will balance the urgent need for new homes for local people with a strategy for preserving and recording the unique history and heritage of the barracks”.
But the trust, which has launched a website as part of a campaign to preserve key aspects of the site, fears the agencies have shown little desire to co-operate since Harrogate Borough Council granted planning permission in February last year and their pledges remain vague and opaque.
Trust chairman Guy Wilson said:
“We are hugely disappointed that after 15 months of engagement with Homes England, the current outline planning application lacks any provision for the preservation of even a single example of the rare and unique huts at Deverell Barracks.
“Neither has any land been allocated to allow for the relocation and re-use of these heritage assets. Both were specific requests that the Harrogate Borough Council planning committee called for in February 2023.
“It has sadly become apparent that none of the parties to this development has any real interest in preserving the heritage of the site and none has made any attempt to work constructively with us. All they are interested in is appearing to do enough to get their present plans passed without alteration, in which case the result will be that significant heritage assets will be lost and this we very much regret.”
The planning update said the housing scheme will preserve the main military roads and names as well as provide information signs.
How the site will look. Pic: Homes England
It also talks about “exploring ways to integrate a walking tour, virtual tour or to develop other forms of public exhibition at the site”.
One of the conditions of planning consent was to allocate £100,000 to the trust to conduct a feasibility study on preserving and retaining some of the existing military buildings on the site. But progress since then has been limited.
Mr Wilson said:
“Unfortunately, we are sceptical about their commitment to developing a feasibility study, as after 15 months of engagement with Homes England there has been no proper engagement with the real issues involved in preserving the heritage.
“During that period work has begun on producing an options appraisal; all the proposals put forward by the trust have been ignored and they have refused to allow the process to be based on a clear understanding of the assets’ heritage significance.”
He added:
“Where is the commitment to assess significance? Where is the list of assets to be preserved? Where is the agreement to transfer ownership of assets required? Where is the commitment to allocate the necessary land to relocate assets? Where is the commitment to build into the development timescale the reality of fund-raising?
“Instead of work on these crucial issues we have been stonewalled at every turn by all parties. Their heritage strategy is aimed at ticking boxes and getting approvals not at preserving the heritage.”
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Troops rallied in fight to save Ripon’s priceless military heritage‘Heritage Worth Fighting For’ is the battlecry of Ripon Military Heritage Trust, as it steps up its campaign to save priceless elements of the city’s world war history from the bulldozer.
The trust, which was established last year, has created a website to raise awareness of its work and attract support from the public and interested parties locally, nationally and internationally.
The heritage items that they are fighting to save include buildings, bridges and other structures that help to tell the story of the strategic role that Ripon played in two world wars and other conflicts.
Each of the heritage assets are located on the Ripon barracks site, where the 1,300-home Clotherholme development led by Homes England – the government’s housing and regeneration agency – is due to begin in 2026, when the Royal Engineers vacate the base that has been their home for decades.
Guy Wilson (fourth from left) is pictured with fellow trustees Lt Col (Retd) Bob Lisle, Jane Furse, Stuart Martin and Michael Furse. Picture RMHT
Chairman of trustees Guy Wilson is, along with fellow trustees, using the website to make a passionate rallying call.
Mr Wilson, who was previously responsible for bringing the Royal Armouries Museum to Leeds in 1988, told the Stray Ferret:
“We need help and support from the public in a number of ways. Most urgent is our need to wake up those in positions of power and influence to the importance of saving Ripon’s unique World War Two heritage.
“Currently the landowners — the Ministry of Defence — and the local planners have taken a Pontius Pilate attitude and washed their hands of any active involvement leaving the trust to deal on its own with the developers — Homes England — who have so far refused to contemplate any change from the submitted development plans.
“If this situation continues the heritage will be lost. Instead ,we need positive engagement and with that we believe that a group of barrack buildings can be saved in a way which would benefit both Ripon and the proposed development.
Mr Wilson added:
“If people want to help they should get in touch with us via our website and be prepared to write letters to their MP, to the planning authority, to the Ministry of Defence and to any relevant contacts they may have. There is also talk locally of organising petitions and other direct actions to show support for the heritage and we expect more to develop on this front soon.”
D-Day for decision makers
Mr Wilson said the forthcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6 presented an opportunity to make the case to a wider audience because of the link between the threatened heritage in Ripon and the success of D-Day.
He added:
“We hope to encourage debate both locally and nationally about the mismatch between the occasional official rhetoric about the debt we owe to the ‘finest hour’ generation and the stark reality of official indifference to the fate of highly significant historic assets that remain to us from that period.
“So we will be encouraging all parts of the news and media world to get involved and to cover the story, we’ll be writing letters to newspapers and journals ourselves, and we’ll be reporting on our success, or lack of it , in seeking the engagement of all relevant parties in a proper and constructive process to save Ripon’s military heritage.”
The Royal Engineers’ vital role in the Second World War
During the Second World War, the School of Military Engineering was relocated from Chatham to Ripon. With it came the ancillary training establishments which taught critical skills such as bomb disposal and anti-tank warfare.
Combat engineers, both British and allied, were trained at Ripon in such skills as bridging and mine clearance. US Army Engineers came to the city after Pearl Harbour to learn how to defuse unexploded bombs and then a US section of the School of Military Engineering was established in Ripon so allied forces could be taught the same things.
On D-Day, some 25% of the troops that landed in Normandy were engineers, far more than normal for combat, but essential as the engineers had so much to do to get the troops safely ashore and moving inland.
British and allied forces were taught in Ripon how to install Bailey Bridges, such as this one in Imola, Italy, which is being crossed by a Sherman Firefly tank. Picture: Wikipedia
Mr Wilson said:
“Not all of them were trained in Ripon but what happened in Ripon influenced every one of them. And there is still much we do not understand and need to find out. For instance, there was an organisation called the Experimental Anti-Tank Establishment.
“We know it was testing anti-tank mines at Ripon. And in a lecture given in December1945 Major General Inglis noted that in 1942 “a number of curious devices such as snakes, flails, rollers and ploughs were being developed by the Anti-Tank Experimental Establishment. This suggests that the Experimental Anti-Tank Establishment and thus Ripon may have had a hand in the early development of what became known as ‘Hobart’s funnies’, those altered ‘engineer’ tanks which proved their worth on and after D-Day.”
Funding for the trust’s work
Mr Wilson added:
“Currently the trust is looking to raise only sufficient money to fund our continuing public relations campaign. A modest £5,000 will see us through this year. Beyond that we cannot start any campaign until we know what we are allowed to do.
“The what and where and how has to be agreed before we can cost any project and start fund-raising for it. And currently no one will properly engage with us to produce the first, essential requirement – a thorough assessment of the significance of the Ripon site and its surviving heritage assets.
“We are, therefore, stuck at the starting post and the danger is that, suddenly the development plans will be passed and demolition will begin before we have had tine to develop a proper scheme to save what is most important.”
Support from Ripon City Council
The leader of Ripon City Council, Councillor Andrew Williams, said:
“We are unanimous in our support for all that the trust is doing and fellow North Yorkshire councillor Barbara Brodigan and I have attended a number of meetings that the trust has held with Homes England, to make the city’s feelings known.”
He added:
“The military heritage within the barracks site must be maintained. It not only belongs to the people of Ripon, but to the nation and is a unique reminder of the part that our Royal Engineers played in fighting for our freedom and the liberation of Europe.
“As well as being a means of educating future generations about the horrors of war, the assets on the barracks site are part of Ripon’s wider heritage dating back 1,351 years to the establishment by Wilfrid of the cathedral and can play an important role in our development as a destination for heritage-based tourism.”
What Homes England says
In a previous statement Homes England, said:
“We remain committed to delivering a military heritage strategy as part of our wider proposals for the site and continue to discuss options with the local planning authority and the Ripon Military Heritage Trust.”
The government housebuilding agency added:
- Details for the heritage strategy, its funding, and potential use of the existing military structures continue to be fine-tuned as part of the planning application process.
- As part of ongoing discussions with North Yorkshire Council, Homes England and The Defence Infrastructure Organisation have committed to spending £100.000 towards the progression of the submitted heritage strategy. The council has asked Homes England / the DIO to continue engagement with Ripon Military Heritage Trust over the submitted heritage strategy and a number of options are now being explored as part of those discussions.
Read more:
Ripon’s military heritage under threat again after U-turnRipon’s priceless military heritage assets are under threat once more after an about-turn from the government’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England.
Ripon played a major role in both world wars and the Cold War. The poet Wilfred Owen was among thousands stationed in the city during the First World War and the Laver Banks site played a pioneering role in military bridges. Further details are available here.
Military and civic organisations campaigned to preserve this heritage when plans were revealed to build 1,300 homes at the city’s barracks, which will be the biggest single residential development in Ripon’s history.
They thought the section 106 agreement agreed with developers when the project was approved last year would do this but Jane Furse (pictured below) a trustee of Ripon Military Heritage Trust, told the Stray Ferret:
“Homes England has said that the military heritage aspects of the barracks site has not been included in the section 106 agreement that they have been drawing up with North Yorkshire planners.
“This comes as a massive disappointment after we have fought so hard to ensure that the extremely rare and historically-important assets currently on the proposed housing development site have the legal protection that would be afforded through the 106 agreement.
“Homes England’s actions fly in the face of a democratic decision made at a Harrogate Borough Council meeting last February, when members agreed that a legally-binding agreement needed to be in place to protect the site’s military heritage.”
Ms Furse added:
“Ripon, as a military city played a crucial role in both world wars and the subsequent cold war period in areas ranging from bomb disposal to the development of Bailey Bridges that were used in many different theatres of war.
“Its Royal Engineers received the Freedom of the City in 1949 in thanks for their worldwide service and it is rather ironic, in a year when we will be marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, to find ourselves in an uncertain position with regard to the heritage that Ripon has built over decades, and which now could be lost to a housing development
“Our fight goes on and we will be pressing North Yorkshire Council to call on Homes England to carry out the wishes of the councillors who represent Ripon and the wider area.”
This heavy girder bridge over the River Laver on the barracks site was the successor to the Bailey Bridge.
At the Harrogate Borough Council planning meeting in February at which Homes England was effectively given the green light for the 1,300-home development to be known as Clotherholme, councillors agreed a clause, referring to: ‘provision within the s106 to secure a strategy to secure military heritage within the site.’
Without this in place any plans to preserve and promote Ripon’s military history and develop a trail that has potential to attract heritage tourists to the city will remain in doubt.
The Stray Ferret is seeking a response from Homes England.
Main image: Rare huts that were home to Second World War soldiers are among the heritage buildings the trust is trying to preserve. Picture RMHT
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Ripon military heritage trail plans backed by city councilRipon councillors have given their unanimous backing to proposals for a heritage trail focused on the city’s unique military history.
At Monday’s full council meeting, Guy Wilson and Jane Furse of Ripon Military Heritage Trust, provided an update on work that the charity is doing in a bid to save buildings and bridges at the the Ripon barracks site, where Homes England has planning consent to build the 1,300 homes development known as Clotherholme.
The trust wants to ensure that heritage structures that tell the story of the crucial role that Ripon played in World War II and the Cold War are not destroyed.
These include a number of rare huts on the Deverell Barracks section of the site that date back to 1939 and are among only a handful still in existence.
The trust wants to preserve seven of the huts for future relocation to a site next to the Laver Banks training area.
But to do this, they need approval for the buildings to to be dismantled and kept in the storage depot at Deverell Barracks.
The trust’s plan also involves the phased development of a military heritage centre alongside countryside trails which will interpret the city’s unique military heritage, while providing a gateway to the Clotherholme scheme.
Trust chair Mr Wilson said:
“We have presented our ideas to Homes England and are now seeking the support of the city council.”
Councillor Stuart Flatley said:
“These plans are mind blowing for Ripon. Military history is massive and this has to be good for the whole community.”
Councillor Pauline McHardy added:
“This is a wonderful idea. Many people who live in Ripon used to serve at that site and have a lasting connection to it.”
The proposals were welcomed by city council leader Andrew Williams, who said:
“We share the aspirations of Ripon Military Heritage Trust and will continue to offer it our full support.”
It was agreed that North Yorkshire Council planners will be called upon by the city council to ensure that heritage infrastructure on site is protected and preserved.
Ripon military heritage campaigners to hold public launchAn organisation fighting to save forgotten but nationally important military heritage will hold its public launch in Ripon on Saturday.
Members of Ripon Military Heritage Trust (RMHT) will be on hand at Market Square from 10am to tell people about the campaign to protect and preserve structures and buildings currently threatened by demolition as part of a redevelopment of MoD property by the government agency Homes England.
The redevelopment area at Clotherholme is currently occupied by Claro and Deverell Barracks and the Laver Banks Training Ground.
Trust chairman Guy Wilson, former Master of the Royal Armouries (RA) who played a leading role the creation of the RA museum in Leeds, said:
“Ripon has a long and rich military heritage but its key role in helping secure the liberation of Europe in the Second World War and then maintain it has been largely forgotten.
“The redevelopment site at Clotherholme contains a number of unique and very rare military buildings and structures, worth preserving on their own account, but even more so when what was happening in and around them is understood.”
The relocation of the Royal School of Military Engineering to Ripon in 1940 meant the city played a huge part in training combat engineers.
It was here that the famous Bailey bridge, in its many varieties, was tested and perfected before seeing use in theatres of war across the world. So important was bridge building and the other engineering activities in Ripon that the US Army formed its own ‘American section’ to train its key engineers.
Early in the war British army bomb disposal training was centralised on the site and in the aftermath of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, a secret delegation of US Army personnel, led by Major Thomas Kane, came to the city to train.
On completing the course they were presented with Royal Engineer ‘Bomb Disposal’ patches and given the unique honour of being able to wear them on their US Army uniforms.
Kane returned to the Unites States where, with British help, he set up his own version of the Ripon School. He is regarded as the father of US Army Bomb Disposal.
Saving some of the remaining structures at Clotherholme that tell this story and its continuation into the Cold War is the RMHT’s first important task. But it has a wider remit and is dedicated to researching and preserving Ripon’s long and varied military heritage.
The trust aims to preserve a number of the surviving structures on a site at Laver Banks and develop a military heritage centre alongside countryside trails which will interpret the city’s unique military heritage.
Pictured above are members of the trust on the Heavy Girder Bridge at Laver Banks. From the left: Lt Col Bob Lisle (ret’d), Jane Furse, Stuart Martin MBE, Guy Wilson and Michael Furse. Picture: Ripon Military Heritage Trust.
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Priceless military heritage to be protected at Ripon development siteFears that priceless elements of Ripon’s rich military heritage could be flattened to make way for the 1,300-home Clotherholme scheme have been allayed.
Jane Furse, a trustee of the Ripon Military Heritage Trust, which has plans to create heritage trails on the development site, told the Stray Ferret:
“We were concerned that some extremely rare huts on the Deverell Barracks part of the site, and other historically important structures, would be demolished, but I’m relieved to say that this will not be the case.
“These huts are among the few surviving of their kind in the UK and help to tell the story of the vital national and international role that Ripon’s Royal Engineers played in just about every aspect of World War II and subsequent conflicts.
“This included training British and allied troops in the erection and use of Bailey Bridges in theatres of war such as Sicily and France and bomb disposal, that saved the lives of civilians and military personnel around the world.”
Minutes of Harrogate Borough Council’s February 23 planning meeting at which Homes England was seeking outline approval to progress development of the huge Clotherholme scheme, confirm that the huts and other structures will have protection.
Under the provisions of a Section 106 agreement the developer is required to put in place a strategy to ‘secure military heritage within the site.’
Jane Furse of Ripon Military Heritage Trust pictured at the barracks site
The planning meeting minutes also say:
“Prior to the commencement of works to each phase of development, a record (including photographs, drawings and summary of historic analysis) shall be made of a representative selection of buildings with military heritage on site and shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. Copies of this record shall be placed on the North Yorkshire Historic Environment Record.”
Ms Furse, an architectural historian and former inspector of historic buildings with English Heritage (now Historic England) pointed out:
“Inclusion within the S 106 agreement means that the significance of military heritage assets at the site has been formally recognised and that is very welcome news.
“It means that we can go forward, in liaison with Homes England and other parties, to progress plans for military heritage trails at Clotherholme that alongside other heritage attractions, will add to the city’s development as a tourist destination.”
Bomb disposal and the American connection
The wooden huts at Deverell Barracks are of heritage importance, because they are identical to ones that were located at the nearby Harper Barracks which became the home of the Royal Engineers’ School of Bomb Disposal in 1941.
Setting up of the national school in Ripon, soon saw Royal Engineers based in the city providing vital training and passing on know-how to the Americans, in the wake of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, the USA naval base.
Ms Furse said:
“The Royal Engineers sought out examples of every known enemy bomb and developed countermeasures to defuse them. The School developed a rigorous training programme in bomb identification and disposal methodology.
“The Americans, although aware of the threat of unexploded bombs, had no proper procedures for safe disposal and the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7 1941, meant that for the first time, they were faced with unexploded bombs scattered throughout their bases and the harbour.
“On December 9, the British Military Attache’s office in Washington received a request for a joint personnel exchange – an early example of the ‘special relationship’ between ourselves and the USA.
“A group of eight hand-picked American soldiers headed by Major Thomas J Kane, travelled to Ripon to train with the Engineers, arriving on February 1 1942.
“After six weeks of attending lectures and demonstrations, all of the U.S. Army ordnancemen passed the course and were made honorary Royal Engineers – they were even given official RE patches and allowed to wear them on the sleeves of their American uniforms.”
The expertise gained from the Royal Engineers in Ripon subsequently saw Major Kane set up the USA’s first Bomb Disposal School in Maryland.
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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.”
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.
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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.
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