A new professional choir based in Ripon that performs everything from choral music to opera is putting on a local concert.

Jervaulx Singers was founded by Charlie Gower-Smith and Jenny Bianco, who are based in North Yorkshire and perform across the UK.

Group members include baritone Edmund Danon, who has performed at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, Opera North, Cadogan Hall and the London Southbank; Yorkshire-born mezzo-soprano Beth Moxon has performed as ‘L’enfant’ in Ravel’s ‘Lenfant et les sortilèges’ for Opéra de Lyon and Royal Opera House Muscat; bass Laurence Williams, who has toured the Messiah solos with Stephen Layton to Australia, singing with the Auckland Philharmonic and soprano Eleanor Garside, who was described in The Guardian as giving a ‘standout performance’ in Waterperry Opera’s Mansfield Park by Jonathan Dove.

Further details of the Sharow event are available here.

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A man has been arrested on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs after officers came across a crashed car in Ripon.

Shortly after 3pm yesterday, North Yorkshire Police officers on patrol near Lark Lane in Ripon located a red VW Golf car that had been involved in a collision and was on its roof.

A police statement today said:

“One of the occupants made off from the scene. Following a search of the area, officers located a large quantity of suspected cannabis and cocaine.

“The other occupant, a 19-year-old local man, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug. He has since been released on bail while enquiries continue.”

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference number 12230015627.

Police closed the road while the incident took place.

Read more:

• Ripon councillor calls for action amid concerns about broadband installation
• Long-awaited refurbishment of Ripon council flats approved

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee has given planning permission to refurbish 12 “eyesore” council flats in Ripon that date from the 1960s.

The project will include rendering of the brickwork, new stainless steel walkways and balconies, a communal garden and six car parking spaces at Allhallowgate.

The council approved spending £600,000 to improve the properties in December and the decision was ratified by the planning committee this week.

Plans to refurbish the homes date back seven years but have been delayed due to sinkhole concerns in the area.

In 2015, planning permission was granted to demolish a block of flats at 4-14a Allhallowgate and replace them with nine townhouses. The plan also included a major refurbishment of an existing block of flats.

The flats were demolished but the rest of the scheme was halted in 2019 after an engineering firm found ground instability “could be foreseen” on or near the site. They warned that measures to reduce the risk of the townhouses collapsing were not cost-effective.

Ripon sits above a layer of gypsum, which is a water-soluble rock that leads to the formation of large underground caves that can collapse.

Read more:

• Harrogate council approves £650,000 refurbishment of ‘eyesore’ Ripon flats
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The council pledged to continue with the refurbishment of the existing flats that weren’t demolished. However, its plans were paused again during covid as they were used as temporary accommodation for homeless people.

In May, the council was quoted £1.1m for the project by a contractor — almost double its budget of £650,000. It has since removed plans to build an extension to the building to reduce costs.

‘Somewhat of an eyesore’

Conservative cabinet member for housing and safer communities, Mike Chambers, who is also councillor for Ripon Spa, said he was happy the project was finally moving forward.

Cllr Chambers told a meeting in December after the funding was approved:

“This is a project that for a number of years has hit the buffers for various reasons. It is now appropriate we start moving it forward again. It is somewhat of an eyesore so I’m delighted we’re moving forward.

“It will improve the streetscene and a number of residents are concerned about the state of the block following the demolition. It’s high time we moved on.”

A Ripon councillor has called for action following complaints about the disruption caused by contractors involved in the installation of a full fibre broadband network.

Cllr Andrew Williams, leader of Ripon City Council and North Yorkshire county councillor for the Minster and Moorside division, told the Stray Ferret the works by the Make Happen Group on behalf of CityFibre had brought complaints from more than a dozen residents living on Whitcliffe Lane, Whitcliffe Drive and Elm Road.

He added:

“They are concerned about the potential dangers for both pedestrians and motorists, of accessing and leaving their properties on streets where construction work is ongoing, that have blocked off footpaths and are lined with barriers.”

A closed section of footpath on Whitcliffe Lane

Cllr Williams, who has called for intervention from North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department, which issued permits for the work to go ahead, said:

“When I visited the area at the weekend there were no road closed signs, no diversion signs in place. It was a complete mess. I even witnessed a motorist having to drive on a footpath to get around one of the contractors’ vehicles.

“On Whitcliffe Lane one side of the pavement is unavailable and on the opposite side of the road they have put the signage on the pavement advising of the roadworks thus preventing people in wheelchairs or with a pram from using it.

“They are working in three locations at once, but these are not urgent works and therefore proper road closure signs should be in place with diversions and advance warning given to local residents.”

David Black, one of the agents overlooking the installation on behalf of Make Happen Group, said:

“We operate to the the highest possible standards and our work is independently assessed, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.

“Our aim is to complete the installation quickly, efficiently and safely in a way designed to minimise disruption to residents.”

Mr Black added:

“Our work on Elm Road is now complete and will be completed soon on Whitcliffe Lane and Whitcliffe Drive.

“I have been in contact with Cllr Williams and invited him to meet with me on site. That invitation remains open.”

Read more:

• Bishop of Ripon says farewell
• Sharow roads earmarked for £200,000 resurfacing works

Burglars using a low loader are believed to be responsible for a building site burglary in Ripon yesterday.

North Yorkshire Police today urged people to report any suspicious activity in the College Road area of the city following the burglary, which happened at about 10.15pm last night.

Thieves took a mini yellow dumper truck from the site and broke into a container to steal tools.

A police statement today said:

“It’s likely the suspects were travelling in a vehicle with a trailer or in a low loader.

“If anyone heard or saw anything that could assist the investigation, please email robert.howe@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, option 2, and ask for Robert Howe.

“Information can also be supplied anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

The crime reference number is 12230013848.

Read more:

• Bishop of Ripon formally departs — with no successor imminent
• Ripon Cathedral major development requires removal of 11 trees

The Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley has formally left her role as Bishop of Ripon after five years to become Bishop of Newcastle.

At a special evensong service at Ripon Cathedral, Bishop Helen-Ann removed her diocesan cope, stole and mitre and placed them on the altar in a symbolic act of standing down.

Paying tribute to to the people of the Ripon episcopal area, she said:

“I have often felt most affirmed in my role as Bishop of Ripon by people and groups who are not part of the formal structures of the church, and for whose support and encouragement I will be forever grateful: by our civic and military partners, those who work in the rural and farming economies and the running community.”

With Bishop of Leeds Nick Baines

She praised Ripon Runners, of which she was a member, for giving her mental and physical challenges, such as once having to define “evil” while running up a hill to Ripon’s Morrisons supermarket.

Bishop of Leeds Nick Baines said Bishop Helen-Ann had been a blessing to the diocese in the five years since she arrived from New Zealand, accompanied at that service by a group of Maori elders.

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• Bishop of Ripon set to move to new post in Newcastle
• Ripon Cathedral major development requires removal of 11 trees

Bishop Nick presenting her with a framed aerial view of Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, as a parting gift. He said

“Let us continue to pray for Bishop Helen-Ann and her husband Myles and pray that they will thrive and build new friendships with colleagues in Newcastle.”

The bishop’s final sermon in Ripon.

The appointment of a bishop is a lengthy and opaque process that requires the consent of Downing Street.

The Stray Ferret asked the Anglican Diocese of Leeds when a new Bishop of Ripon was likely to be appointed.

A spokesman said:

“A process to find her successor is underway and will be concluded as swiftly as possible.”

Ripon’s St Cecilia Orchestra returns to Holy Trinity Church this month with a programme featuring music for dance, drama and romance.

Following the success of their Rachmaninov festival weekend with pianist Peter Donohoe in October, the orchestra is looking forward to a change of pace with this varied programme of chamber orchestra gems.

The first concert of the year will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday, January 28.

Conductor Xenophon Kelsey said 

“It’s pretty rare for us to do a concert without a soloist.  This is a glorious opportunity for all the players to develop the sense that, in a smaller, chamber-sized orchestra, everyone is a soloist – at least some of the time!

“We all need to listen to each other, react to musical shapes and ideas and not simply ‘follow the conductor.’ That is what makes it such a delight to conduct concerts like this and to really feel you are part of the team, not just the boss at the front.”

The concert will open with Richard Strauss’ Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments, a single-movement piece completed when the composer was just 17 years old and the first work to gain him recognition as a composer outside his native environment.

The serenade makes strong use of the French horn, having  in the ensemble line-up – perhaps evidence of his father’s musical influence (Franz Strauss was principal horn player of the Munich Court Orchestra).

Next on the programme, is Sibelius’ Pelléas and Mélisande suite, written in response to a commission by the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki as incidental music for Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1892 play of the same name.

The play inhabits a medieval world of dream and fantasy and tells of Pelléas’ love for Mélisande, who is unhappily married to his brother, Golaud. The story has inspired several more musical works, including an opera by Debussy.

After the interval the orchestra will play Bartók’s energetic Romanian Folk Dances in the chamber orchestra version. Originally written for piano, and based on tunes that would have been played on violin or a shepherd’s flute, the work consist of six short movements that should according to the composer take just four minutes and three seconds to perform.

The concert concludes with Mozart’s rarely-played symphony 25. In the key of G minor, the symphony is written in the sturm und drang style, characterised by emotional extremes and sudden changes in tempo and dynamics – a piece sure to leave the audience feeling energised!

Tickets for the concert, priced at £15 for adults and free for under 18s, can be obtained online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/st-cecilia, from the Little Ripon Bookshop and on the door, or can be reserved by calling 01423 531062.

A senior hospital consultant has warned Ripon Grammar School students about the dangers of vaping.

More children are taking up vaping in the UK, with products easily available over the counter in supermarkets.

Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite, who is chair of governors and a parent at the school as well as a kidney specialist and clinical director for medical specialities with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, told hundreds of teenagers she was among many medical professionals increasingly concerned about the impact of vaping on health.

Dr Garthwaite said:

“We are seeing increasing numbers of young people presenting to hospital with problems associated with addiction, but also medical problems which are associated with vaping.”

Although originally designed as a form of nicotine replacement to help smokers break their addiction to cigarettes, vaping is far from harmless, warned Dr Garthwaite, who said:

“It was never designed as a safe alternative. The multiple chemicals used to create the vapes, and in particular the flavours and smells, are often dangerous and have unpredictable consequences.”

Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite

Dr Garthwaite talked about a sporty 17-year-old A-level student who is now using a wheelchair after suffering from acute nicotine poisoning and severe lung damage after vaping.

She added:

“Although there is no tar or smoke, the nicotine and other sticky carbonated chemicals are cancerous and will stick in the lungs and move into your circulation, causing significant damage to the whole body.

“As health care professionals, we are concerned that vaping is seen as safe and easy for young people. This is not what nicotine replacement was designed for. It was developed to enable those individuals who were addicted to cigarette smoking, and suffering the consequences of this, to reduce their exposure to the toxic smoke and tar released from cigarettes.”

Read more:

• Developer appeals decision to refuse 13 homes plan on Ripon timber yard
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A judging panel made up of leaders from top local businesses and organisations have shortlisted finalists for the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023, sponsored by Prosperis.

It wasn’t a simple task, with more than 100 entries across 10 categories, which highlighted the strength of the local business community.

Our four judges were Marcus Boardall, chief executive of Reed Boardall, Black Sheep Brewery chief executive Charlene Lyons, Cloud Nine founder and chief executive Martin Rae, and James Farrar, chief operating officer of York and North Yorkshire LEP.

The judging panel met at West Park Hotel in Harrogate in the morning and debated well into the afternoon.

On Friday, January 20, the Stray Ferret will announce the shortlist for each of the 10 categories.

From growing businesses to the up-and-coming stars of the future, the categories are designed to allow businesses to showcase their strengths.

The glittering, black tie awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, March 9 at Pavilions of Harrogate. To book your tickets, click or tap here.

More pictures from the judging day:

There were lots of entries for the judges to get through.

Our judges enjoyed debating about each of the entrants.

Marcus Boardall of Reed Boardall and Martin Rae of Cloud Nine.

James Farrar of the York and North Yorkshire LEP and Charlene Lyons of Black Sheep Brewery.