‘Summary’ of never-published £85,000 Ripon regeneration plan to be releasedNorth Yorkshire Council is set to produce a “summary document” for a long-delayed project which aimed to present a new vision for Ripon.
The Ripon Renewal scheme was set up to produce a masterplan for the regeneration of the city.
The former Harrogate Borough Council commissioned Bauman Lyons Architects to draw up the vision at a cost of £85,000 in 2021.
The company was tasked with producing funding options and a business case for Ripon to bid for money for regeneration projects.
However, the project failed to produce a blueprint for the city some two-and-a-half years after it started.
Officials at North Yorkshire Council, which has since taken over the scheme, said an agreement could not be reached with the contractor after talks to extend the contract.
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When the Stray Ferret asked for an update on the status of the Ripon Renewal scheme, Nic Harne, corporate director for community development at the council, said it remained committed to regenerating Ripon, adding:
“The Ripon Renewal project took much longer than had been envisaged when it was set up.
“This meant it was necessary to enter into discussions with Bauman Lyons Architects about a variation of the contract to complete the work. An agreement on the terms could not be reached and the contract has now ended. The project cost remained within the contracted budget.
“Our officers have now carried out a review of the work undertaken and have brought together a summary document, which will be circulated to stakeholders within the project group soon.
“The document will include information about the projects and opportunities for taking the ethos of the Ripon Renewal project forward.”
Councillors in Ripon previously described the delay in the scheme as “absolute nonsense”.
At a council meeting in March, Cllr Andrew Williams, who represents Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire Council, said:
“It’s astonishing that we’ve spent £85,000 of public money to get nothing, not even a draft executive summary from a consultant — that’s how bad this is.
“A lot of time has spent on this by organisations in the city but it’s fallen off a cliff-edge. It’s an absolute nonsense.”
‘An absolute nonsense’: Ripon’s £85,000 regeneration plan thrown into doubtA Ripon councillor has strongly criticised Harrogate Borough Council after an officer confirmed a report costing £85,000 that was supposed to present a new vision for Ripon city centre remains unfinished — over two-and-a-half years since it was first announced.
At a meeting of the Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee yesterday in Skipton, officers at North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council spoke to councillors about the economic opportunities for Ripon ahead of the new council forming on April 1.
But it was the current status of the Ripon Renewal Project masterplan that Ripon councillors Andrew Williams and Barbara Brodigan were seeking answers to.
Harrogate Borough Council awarded a contract to Bauman Lyons Architects in 2020 to draw up a vision for the future of the city.
The company was tasked with producing funding options and a business case for Ripon to bid for money for regeneration projects.
A consultation was held in 2021 when residents, businesses and community groups highlighted problems in the city. These included not enough things for young people to do, traffic in the market place and a lack of affordable housing.
However, publication of the document has been beset by delays, which led Cllr Brodigan to accuse the council of letting it “gather dust” at an office in Harrogate.
Ripon City Council and Ripon BID have submitted freedom of information requests to HBC in an attempt to find out what has been produced.
The project is being co-funded by North Yorkshire County Council and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
‘No draft masterplan’
The borough council’s acting head of place-shaping and economic growth Linda Marfitt told councillors the project was initially delayed due to the consultation exercises taking longer than expected.
She said the council then tried to extend the contract with the architect but were not able to come to an agreement so had to “bring the commission to a close”.
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Ms Marfitt said despite the council not being in possession of a draft masterplan, officers have looked at what work has been done so far and will present a summary to councillors next week.
She added around £55,000 of the £85,000 that was earmarked had been spent.
Ms Marfitt said:
“It isn’t something that sits on a shelf, we’re proactively moving it forward. We’re working with the new council to see what can be done. There will be an update next week. I do apologise for the elongated time frame but we were trying to get a successful outcome.”
It was a response that exacerbated Andrew Williams, independent councillor for Ripon Minster & Moorside and the leader of Ripon City Council.
He said:
“It’s astonishing that we’ve spent £85,000 of public money to get nothing, not even a draft executive summary from a consultant — that’s how bad this is.
“A lot of time has spent on this by organisations in the city but it’s fallen off a cliff-edge. It’s an absolute nonsense.”
A spokesperson for Bauman Lyons Architects issued the following statement:
“Following a positive and helpful period of community and stakeholder engagement, the initial stages of the project took longer than envisaged. This meant it was necessary for the council and Bauman Lyons Architects to enter into discussions about a new contract to complete the work.
“An agreement on the terms could not be reached and the commission has now come to a close.”
‘Inspiring’ new £85,000 vision for Ripon remains unpublished — two years on
A report outlining a new “inspiring and innovative” vision for regenerating Ripon has not been published — more than two years after it was announced.
Harrogate Borough Council advertised a 12-month contract to draw up a masterplan for the city in December 2020.
But Ripon city councillors have discovered through a Freedom of Information request that no formal report for the Ripon renewal project has been produced yet.
The Stray Ferret reported in August that work on the masterplan had been paused due to negotiations over the £85,000 contract awarded by Harrogate Borough Council to Bauman Lyons Architects.
At that time, Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy and culture, said he did not know when the project — originally scheduled for completion last February — would be finalised.
But he added the aim was to finish it before the launch of the replacement North Yorkshire Council, which comes into being on April 1.
He said:
“We are in dialogue with the consultants and it is very difficult to say when that conversation will be concluded.
“But it will be our intention to bring the project forward in that timeframe.”
At Monday’s full meeting of Ripon City Council, leader Andrew Williams, said:
“Both ourselves and Ripon BID, have been trying to obtain a copy of the consultants’ report and now we have discovered through a response to the FOI request we submitted to Harrogate Borough Council that no formal report has been produced.
“As we don’t want the work carried out to be a waste of time and money I propose that we ask Harrogate to report on where the consultants had got to, as this could be helpful for the future in areas such as seeking grant funding.”
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Councillors agreed unanimously for the request to be sent to Harrogate Borough Council and for it to be copied to Councillor Carl Les, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton.
North Yorkshire County Council and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership were, along with Harrogate Borough Council, co-funders of the project. which aimed to create a vision for the future of Ripon that would help the city to win funding for infrastructure, planning and community projects.
A consultation was held in 2021 with residents, businesses and community groups which highlighted problems in the city.
These included not enough things for young people to do, traffic in the market place and a lack of affordable housing.
There were also calls for better traffic management on Low Skellgate and Westgate, and a new green route linking the Workhouse Museum and Ripon Cathedral.
Ripon regeneration plans ‘paused’ amid contract talksWork on a masterplan for the regeneration of Ripon has been paused due to negotiations over a £85,000 contract.
Harrogate Borough Council awarded the contract to Bauman Lyons Architects last year to draw up a vision for the future of the city and help it win funding for infrastructure, planning and community projects.
However, there have been delays for the Ripon Renewal scheme, which was due for completion earlier this year.
And now the project has been halted while a contract variation is agreed with the Leeds-based firm.
Ripon Moorside councillor Stuart Martin told a meeting on Monday that he was concerned about the delays as he questioned whether the project would be completed before the council is abolished.
In response, Trevor Watson, director of economy and culture at the council, said he did not know when the project would be done, but the aim was before the launch of the replacement North Yorkshire Council in April 2023.
He said:
“We are in dialogue with the consultants and it is very difficult to say when that conversation will be concluded.
“But it will be our intention to bring the project forward in that timeframe.”
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The project started in February 2021 and was due for completion a year later. Bauman Lyons Architects has been contacted for comment on the delays.
Regeneration projects
The company was tasked with producing funding options and a business case for Ripon to bid for money for regeneration projects.
A consultation was held last year with residents, businesses and community groups which highlighted problems in the city.
These included not enough things for young people to do, traffic in the market place and a lack of affordable housing.
There were also calls for better traffic management on Low Skellgate and Westgate, and a new green route linking the Workhouse Museum and Ripon Cathedral.
The Ripon Renewal project is being funded by Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Separately, the borough council made a joint bid for £6 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund for regeneration projects in Ripon, Skipton and Masham.
This included cash for “high-quality place-making, improved cultural and community assets, and improved sustainable connectivity” across the three areas.
However, the bid was rejected by the government last year and the plans have been put on hold.