RIPON CATHEDRAL CHAPTER has withdrawn its planning application for a proposed annexe that may have included lavatories, a refectory, a song school, and storage. It was estimated to have the potential to bring a 32-per-cent increase in visitor numbers to the cathedral and city (News, 17 March 2023).
The Dean, the Very Revd John Dobson, made the announcement last Friday. “We consider, as we all the time have, that our development should be a part of a wider agreed plan for the town. This includes making a ‘Cathedral Quarter’ which might deliver wider advantages to the town and county,” his statement said.
Central to the event of the plan had been a belief that the cathedral was working inside the Neighbourhood Plan (adopted after an area referendum) to create that Quarter. “However, we were saddened that Ripon City Council didn’t support the proposed annex in its December meeting, despite the numerous eloquent arguments placed before them, and the amendments which were made to retain the beech tree,” the Dean said.
“In addition, we proceed to be asked for ever more proof of viability and justification inside the planning system.”
The debate inside the city had been “difficult and difficult for everybody, but especially for cathedral staff and supporters”, he said. “The intention in withdrawing the present application is to permit the further development and amendment of our plans to be discussed constructively and positively — balancing the numerous complex constraints and opportunities.”
He warned: “Despite comments on the contrary, the financial sustainability of Ripon Cathedral can’t be taken with no consideration, and this has been highlighted recently by the situation of another cathedrals in England.
“With this in mind, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the vision for Ripon Cathedral, with growing numbers of worshippers, visitors, pilgrims, and concertgoers, together with our flourishing choir.”
The Cathedral pays the town council to maintain open the general public lavatories across the road, because it has no facilities of its own. “The provision of essential facilities (including toilets) for all those that use the cathedral stays an urgent priority,” the Dean said.
“We are also dedicated to protecting the material of the cathedral for future generations, a few of which has been in continuous use for over 1350 years, and is currently in danger from its inappropriate use for essential storage.”
He clarified that each one costs for developing and amending the proposals in response to the feedback had been covered by fund-raising, and paid tribute to the “ongoing, generous support” of donors and funders, together with the efforts of all who supported the continued enterprise
He concluded: “The whole Chapter joins me in thanking staff, volunteers, and all in the broader Cathedral community for continuing to attain a lot while battling with the inadequate facilities.
“We now look to work constructively with North Yorkshire Council and Ripon City Council on how the essential needs of the Cathedral may be met, and we will likely be asking them to share their vision for the way the Cathedral Quarter will likely be developed.”
The Chapter first put plans forward in 2020. It revised them after consultation, offering an answer to the contested felling of a 200-year old beech tree. Supporters have raised greater than half of the estimated cost, £8 million, and the plans had the support of Historic England
The Chapter published a booklet, Your Questions Answered, within the face of social-media discourse that the Dean, the Very Revd John Dobson, suggested was “lacking facts and distorting the conversation — I’m concerned that a few of the individuals who say they aren’t supporting this may increasingly actually be ‘not supporting’ something we’re not doing.”
Last August, the Civic Society opposed the proposal on the grounds that the proposed annexe could harm views from a UNESCO World Heritage site, Studley Royal Park, which incorporates the ruins of Fountains Abbey.
An area resident, Stanley Mackintosh, was ordered by North Yorkshire Council that month to remove posters and slogans outside his home which criticised the project. They included a cartoon depicting the Dean with a chainsaw (News, 9 August 2024)
The plans went before North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee on 3 December. The citizen journalism website Yorkshire Bylines reports that greater than 2700 people had formally and publicly objected to the plans, and that the Woodland Trust, Ripon City Council, and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust had raised concerns.
