An animal welfare charity is closing its Ripon shop today (Friday) due to declining trade.

This  proved the tipping point for the Blue Cross shop, which has operated for five years from a large corner unit in The Arcade.

All remaining stock is being sold off for £2 or less, ahead of this afternoon’s closure..

David Palmer, Blue Cross head of retail operations, told the Stray Ferret:

“We were coming up to the end of our lease and after considerable thought we have sadly taken the difficult decision to close our shop in Ripon due to a decrease in the levels of trade and low profitability.

“We’d like to thank the staff and volunteers for all their hard work in the shop and pass on our thanks to everyone in Ripon who has supported Blue Cross over the five years.

He added:

“We are constantly looking at all of our 55 shops across the country to ensure we’re raising as many funds as possible for the thousands of sick, injured and homeless pets we help every year.

“We have shops in Northallerton and Thirsk where we would be delighted to receive donations and people can also support our charity by volunteering with us.”

The former Caffe Tempo Unit (pictured right) has been vacant since late July.

In July, Caffe Tempo, which had traded for six years in the unit neighbouring the Blue Cross shop, closed because of spiralling ingredient and overhead costs, that wiped out its profitability.

The former Caffe Tempo and two further units  in The Arcade remain vacant.

Read more:

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The cost of living crisis, increased energy bills and spiralling inflation are forcing an award-winning Ripon cafe to close its doors in a month’s time.

Caffe Tempo, based at The Arcade since the summer of 2017, has won the Restaurant Guru Best Coffeehouse in Ripon title for six consecutive years, along with Tripadvisor awards last year and in 2020.

But it said numerous financial challenges outside of its control have made the business unviable.

Owner Tina Whincup (pictured above) told the Stray Ferret:

“Our annual turnover has grown to around £220,000, but we haven’t been able to make a profit because all of our bills have gone up.”

Office for National Statistics figures released this week showed year-on-year inflation remaining at  8.7%, but Ms Whincup said:

“The reality is that many of the raw products that we use for the items that we bake, have increased between 100% and 300%.

“To transfer this to the items that we sell makes them so expensive that they go from every day purchases made by our customers, to a once in a while treat.”

She added:

“Although we have remained busy every day, the average spend per person has reduced significantly and it is with great sadness that we are calling time on Caffe Tempo. Our last day of trading will Saturday July 22.

“This has not been an easy decision for us, but unfortunately the challenges the hospitality industry has faced and continued to face have reached the point of no return.

“Our industry has had the worst three years in modern history, with two years of on-off closures, a cost of living crisis and also a shortage of staff.

“When we add in the increase in minimum wage, energy costs at over £900 per month,  which could increase to £1,800 per month, when our current contract comes to an end, we find ourselves in a situation that is no longer viable.”

Staffing shortages have seen Ms Whincup working 70 hour weeks since the years of covid closures to keep the business going, but she is now looking elsewhere for employment, along with her two members of staff, including her daughter Elise.

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Musicians busked in the bright Bank Holiday sunshine in Ripon as performers in many different musical genres attracted extra footfall to the city’s streets.

The Ripon Indie event, organised by independent traders and featuring a host of highly-talented local and regional artists, was supported by Ripon Business Improvement District.

There was a large gathering on Kirkgate, where performers included the rock band Time Machine (main picture) and singer-songwriter Alannah Creed, pictured below.

The day also featured a Little Bird Artisan Market in the city centre which, alongside the musical entertainment and a team of Bollywood-style dancers, brought hundreds of people in to Ripon.

Buskers were strategically placed in Market Square, Westgate, North Street and The Arcade and their music acted as a magnet to those wishing to follow the busking trail.

Popular Ripon performers Lily Worth (above) and Freddie Cleary (below) were among the entertainers who showed the depth of young musical talent that the city boasts.

Yesterday’s event proved a natural follow-on from the successful street party held on Kirkgate on Easter Monday, which ran under the umbrella of the independents’ Totally Locally Campaign backed by Ripon BID.

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A charity that supports desperately ill children and their families will benefit for the fourth consecutive year from a fundraising event staged by Ripon cafe owner Tina Whincup.

Ms Whincup, who owns Caffe Tempo in The Arcade, will be hosting story time with Santa on the evenings of December 13 and 14, to raise money for Yorkshire Children’s Trust.

The popularity of the event is underlined by the fact that tickets sold out within days of going on sale.

Santa will be reading Christmas stories at Caffe Tempo next month to raise money for Yorkshire Children’s Trust.

Ms Whincup told the Stray Ferret:

“We are going to raise a record of at least £700 this year through ticket sales and a silent auction being conducted online for an exclusive Caffe Tempo jumper, made for us by The British Christmas Jumper Company.

“The trust is a wonderful charity that helps families across Yorkshire and I would encourage people to support them in whatever way they can.”

The auction for the jumper lasts until Sunday (November 20) and anybody wanting to make a bid can find out more details by clicking here.

Yorkshire Children’s Trust was founded by two sets of parents after their daughters were diagnosed with leukaemia. The charity helps children and their families cope with the emotional and financial strain of many life-changing illnesses, something the founders of the charity understand after dealing with their own children going through the long and harsh treatments for cancer.

The charity doesn’t receive any lottery, NHS or government funding and relies heavily on voluntary donations.

Two new bins that have created access problems for wheelchair users at Sainsbury’s car park in Ripon are to be relocated.

Harrogate Borough Council recently installed the waste and recycling bins on a footpath with drop kerbs that provides a link from The Arcade to the supermarket.

But they leave little room for wheelchairs, or people with prams and pushchairs, to pass safely.

After being contacted by fellow wheelchair users and parents with young children, Jeremy Dunford, a trustee of Ripon Disability Forum, raised the issue with North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council.

The bins leave little room for manoeuvre for people with limited mobility.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been looking at this area for some time, because cars, even when legally parked, have been encroaching on to the path on either side, making it hard to get along with mobility equipment and wide buggies.

“The addition of the bins made the position even more difficult.”

In response to Mr Dunford’s request for urgent action over the bins, a spokesperson from Harrogate Borough Council, which has installed many large new bins across the district lately, said:

“We’re in the process of having them moved and are working with local partners to find a more suitable location.”

Mr Dunford said:

“I would like to thank the council for their swift response. By working with organisations like the disability forum, we can hopefully avoid issues like this from arising in the future.”

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There is anger and dismay in Ripon this week, following the announcement by Barclays that it will close its city branch in August.

Barclays has been present on Market Square East for generations and there has been a bank under various names at this prime location since 1785.

The anger is further fuelled by a Barclays report outlining the reasons for closure, which revealed that counter transactions went up in the two years to March 2020.

This week and last the Stray Ferret has been gauging reaction to the planned closure and among those to speak with us was 81-year-old Richard Tite, who has been a regular user of the bank’s counter services for 42 years. He told us:

“When they made their corporate decision to close Ripon and a number of other branches, Barclays showed that they just don’t care about people of my age, who don’t know how to use online banking and rely on the personal service.

“Having a human being that you can speak with and have your questions answered, is very reassuring and I must say that the staff here in Ripon are very good.

“I have no complaint about them, it’s the people above them that show that they simply look on people like me, who have been customers for more than 40 years, as if we don’t count.”

The decision to close Barclays’ long-established Ripon branch has brought an angry reaction.

“This is an absolute disgrace, I have been banking with Barclays for years, but I won’t be for much longer.

“I’m going to close all the accounts I have with them and put my money elsewhere.”

There was a similar response from another person, who also wished to remain anonymous. They said:

“I read in the Stray Ferret that the decision to close has been taken in spite of the fact the the Ripon branch has an increasing number of customers and that just doesn’t make any sense to me.

“Barclays sent me a round robin letter saying there are other branches, such as in Harrogate, that I can use,  but that is not a proper option, because, on top of the inconvenience, there is the increased costs of fuel if you drive over, then you have to pay through the nose to park, simply to get your hands on your own cash.

“The sooner I can transfer my money elsewhere, the better.”

Banking choices in Ripon

Banking choices in Ripon are limited. Besides Barclays, there is HSBC, the Halifax, The Yorkshire and Skipton building societies.

Banking services are also available at the Post Office in The Arcade.

The cash machine currently at Barclays will no longer be available after August 25, meaning that people wanting to make a withdrawal in the city centre will have to go to HSBC, the Halifax or Sainsbury’s.