The latest episode in the Ripon Cathedral annexe story is set to be seen in the next day or so on Channel 4 news.

Alex Thomson, Channel 4’s chief correspondent and environmental reporter, was among 300 people at a parish meeting in the city last night.

What brought him to Ripon is the uncertain fate of 11 trees on Minster Gardens, which remain the central focus of attention in a controversial planning application that will be decided by North Yorkshire Council planners.

Alex Thomson at last night’s meeting with his producer Nanette van der Laan.

Mr Thomson told the Stray Ferret:

“We are interested in this story because of the trees. That’s why we are here in Ripon.”

The Channel 4 news item will primarily focus on the issue of trees.

The 11 trees are under threat because of the proposed two-storey standalone £8 million annexe, which would include a song school, 80-seat refectory, gift shop, accessible toilets and additional storage space.

The application has also attracted the attention of the Woodland Trust, whose inventory of ancient trees includes the 200-year-old veteran beech on Minster Gardens that would be removed if the cathedral does not revise its plans.

The Parish Meeting

The 300 people at last night’s meeting included the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson, a large contingent from the Ripon Cathedral congregation and supporters of the ‘save our trees’ campaign, which has raised a petition of more than 2,200 names.

They gathered at Holy Trinity Church for a parish meeting called by Ripon resident Stanley Mackintosh and five fellow registered electors.

The meeting was held under the provisions of the Local Government Act and would have led to a parish poll on the annexe application, had Mr Mackintosh been successful in gaining the requisite 10 votes to take the process forward. But just four, including himself, voted for, while an overwhelming majority voted against.

Stanley Mackintosh (standing) had his call for a parish poll rejected.

Speaker after speaker called by meeting chair and Mayor of Ripon Councillor Sid Hawke, raised concerns about the potential £10,000  of Ripon council tax payer money that would have been required by North Yorkshire Council to stage the poll.

There was applause for Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams when he said:

“This meeting must decide whether the people of Ripon want to pay an unbudgeted £10,000 for North Yorkshire to carry out a totally meaningless exercise, or use that money for things such as the city’s Christmas lights, supporting children and families or helping the elderly.”

He added:

“As a member of the North Yorkshire planning committee that will decide upon this application, I am unable to talk about its merits or demerits, but I can say that a parish poll on the matter will carry no weight and will not have any influence on the final outcome.”

There was similarly loud applause when former mayor of Ripon Mick Stanley, said:

“We have heard the mood of the meeting, so let’s kick this call for a poll into touch.”

A vote was taken and Mr Stanley’s proposal was overwhelmingly supported, ahead of a further vote which sought to see if Mr Mackintosh had sufficient support to trigger the parish poll.

His bid to gain 10 votes failed.

Dean John (pictured above) echoed the views expressed by a number of speakers, when he said:

“This is a complex matter and I thank the mayor for the way he has handled this meeting.

“It has brought together people who have differing views about the planning application and through our continuing drop in sessions, we want to hear as many constructive views as possible,

“We are sincere and we are listening to everybody, both for and against.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It said:

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

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The children of Ripon are paying the price for Harrogate Borough Council’s ‘incompetent handling’ of the multi-million pound leisure centre project.

That’s the view of Ripon City Council, which backed a call from Independent leader Andrew Williams for immediate action to make the overgrown playing fields at the Camp Close site useable in time for the summer holidays.

Councillors also called for barriers, restricting access to the bike and skate park on site, to be removed so that proper access is restored. Some fencing has been forced down by young people wanting to use the facility (pictured above).

The centre opened behind schedule and over budget in March.

The council also agreed on Monday evening, to make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to HBC for a key report to be made public to discover the financial liability that council tax payers face for remedial work to leisure centre foundations.

The report, which was prepared by engineering consultancy Stantec,  was received by HBC more than two months ago, prior to the local elections in May, but has yet to be presented to the council’s cabinet.

Overgrown and yet to be landscaped, the playing fields.

Cllr Williams, who was elected to represent Ripon at parish and North Yorkshire level, claimed:

“There is a clear attempt to suppress this report and literally kick it into the leisure centre’s long grass.

“But the public has a right to know the full financial consequences, before the successor authority has to deal with the mess of HBC’s incompetent handling of the project from the outset, starting with their decision to build on a site with a known history of ground instability.”

What was promised and what has been delivered?

The £10.2 million contract signed with construction company Willmott Dixon in November 2019, was for delivery of the new pool, a refurbished leisure centre, creation of a children’s playground, landscaping of the site, reinstatement of a football pitch, provision of parking for vehicles and bicycles and installation of electric car charging points.

To date, the pool, children’s playground, parking facilities and charging points, have been delivered, but only the gym on the upper floor of the leisure centre is open, with activities, such as spin classes relocated to the Hugh Ripley Hall.

The agreed completion date for the contract was May 2021, but delays caused by ground instability meant extensive grouting (injection of concrete) had to take place which held up the opening of the pool until March of this year.

Reluctance to release the Stantec report

Following an initial inspection by Stantec of a ‘void’ near the entrance to the leisure centre, discovered during construction work in September 2020, the consultancy was appointed to carry out a detailed investigation of the foundations.

In April, chartered engineer and Ripon resident Stanley Mackintosh, submitted an FOI request to HBC, seeking release of the Stantec report, but despite repeated attempts to obtain a copy, he still awaits their decision on whether or not the report will be released to him.

Escalating costs

Mr Mackintosh, pointed out:

“The known running total for the project as of September 2021, was standing at £14,590,665 and In my opinion, considerable additional monies will be needed to carry out the extremely complex  works.

“This is because the foundations will need to be thickened from 200mm to 750mm, and superstructure modifications will be required to improve the structural stiffness of the building.

“It’s a very costly exercise to carry out under an existing building and even then, long-term sustainability cannot be guaranteed, because of the on-going underground gypsum dissolution that will continue to occur.”

He pointed out:

“Ground instability will be a constant feature in this area of Ripon, as evidenced by the opening up of a sinkhole in February 2018 on the leisure centre car park and the discovery of a further sinkhole close to the centre’s entrance in September 2020.

Chartered civil engineer Stanley Mackintosh, pictured outside the site before the swimming pool opened

“The actual remediation costs will only be known when the findings of the Stantec report are released and I have been attempting, under FOI legislation, to obtain a copy of that report, but the council appears reluctant to let me have it.”

“This stonewalling is a classic case of kicking the can down the road, because the council knows that there will be significant financial implications for council tax payers, long after HBC’s affairs have been taken over by the new North Yorkshire Council next April.”

What does Harrogate Borough Council have to say?

HBC has confirmed that the Stantec report has not been presented to its cabinet members.

A spokesperson, said in a statement:

“The report, and recommendations, will be presented to the meeting of the cabinet in due course.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that the council considers that remedial works that will need to be carried out under the centre are a financially viable proposition.

Asked when the landscaping works and restoration of the football pitch will be carried out, so that children can use the area for recreation once more, the spokesperson didn’t give any specific dates, but said:

“This work will be completed towards the end of the investment project at the leisure and wellbeing centre.”

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