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The leader of Ripon City Council is to call for a decision on whether to allow 1,300 homes to be built in the city to be deferred today.

Government agency Homes England has applied to redevelop Ministry of Defence land in the north-west of the city, between Clotherhome Road and Kirkby Road,

North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee, which adjudicates on large applications, has been recommended to approve the scheme when it meets at 10am this morning.

Cllr Williams warned the plans would lead to “traffic chaos” and the “destruction” of key military heritage sites. He said it would be premature to make a decision until these issues are resolved.

Cllr Williams, who also represents Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire Council, told the Stray Ferret:

“I am attending the meeting and will be calling in the strongest terms for members of the strategic planning committee to defer their decision on the Homes England application.

“The application is premature and I find it disingenuous of Homes England to agree to meet with the city council in July to discuss unresolved matters of major concern to the people of Ripon, while seeking approval for their proposals today.”

Cllr Williams added:

“These matters include the city council’s unanimous call for the protection of military heritage on the barracks site and concerns we have also raised about a proposed change to the Somerset Row and Low Skellgate junction.

“As the application stands, the military heritage, which is part of Ripon’s history, is threatened with destruction, which is totally unacceptable, while the planned junction change, which would prevent those heading towards the city from turning right, would lead to traffic chaos, as drivers will either have to go to the Bedern Bank roundabout and double back on themselves or face a long detour on unsuitable roads.”

The 98-page report by council case officer Kate Broadbank recognises the significance of Ripon’s military heritage. It says “Deverell Barracks has extensive heritage significance” and that the demolition of buildings, such as a 1939 military camp and training bridges “represents the most severe harm to significance as it and most of the components within it will be lost”.

One of the bridges.

The report talks about including measures such as a “public art strategy reflecting the history of the barracks” and installing interpretation boards with details about the site’s military history but adds “it is not possible to require assets to be retained”.

The lack of guarantees has heightened Ripon Military Heritage Trust‘s concerns that key military sites will be bulldozed.

The trust said in a statement it was only informed of the recommendation six days before the meeting, even though it had been talking to North Yorkshire Council and Homes England about the military concerns for 15 months.

The statement said:

“It is clear to us that not a single one of our concerns has been addressed. We are extremely disappointed that there seems so little regard for these heritage assets, their significance and their long-term preservation.”

The meeting is due to be broadcast on the council’s YouTube channel here at 10am.

The Stray Ferret is backing Ripon Military Heritage Trust’s campaign to save key military heritage sites at Clotherholme, as reported here. Please join the campaign and sign the petition here. If it gets 500 signatures it will be debated by North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon planning committee.

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Ripon councillor likens trail hunting ban to 1930s Germany

A campaign pressing for a ban on trail hunting on publicly-owned land across North Yorkshire has been rejected after being likened to an act of the German government in the 1930s.

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s ruling Conservative group and two Independent councillors who have formed an understanding with them voted to recommend the notice of motion not be supported when it goes before a full meeting of the authority in November.

After the vote by the authority’s corporate and partnerships scrutiny committee, Polly Portwin, director of the Countryside Alliance’s Action for Hunting campaign said it was “a victory for common sense”.

She said: 

“It would be morally wrong for any local authority to ban a lawful activity and we hope this ideological attack on the rural way of life is voted down at the next meeting of the full council.”

Labour councillor Rich Maw, who had proposed the motion, said the result had been politically motivated.

Cllr Maw said the law surrounding hunting was persistently being flouted across council land and that the League Against Cruel Sports had collated 29 witness reports of suspected illegal hunting, including eight incidents of cub hunting in the county.

He told members trail hunting was being used as a cover for illegal hunting, enabling “the inevitable chasing and killing of animals to be labelled accidental”.

Cllr Maw, who represents Weaponness and Ramshill, was accused of pursuing a “personal crusade”. He said: 

“As a council we have an opportunity, a responsibility to act. It is about recognising the current legislation is being abused.”

The meeting heard claims some 78 per cent of the public supported new laws on hunting to protect animals and called on the council to display a pro-active, preventative approach to animal cruelty, environmental damage and antisocial behaviour associated with hunting.

Labour group leader Cllr Steve Shaw-Wright said the council needed to support the will of the majority of residents.

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However, Damian Readman, a joint-master of the Derwent Hunt, told the meeting how the hunt accessed council-owned land “throughout the season” and that tenant farmers should be able to make their own decisions regarding the land for which they are responsible.

He said: 

“Trail hunting and hound exercising, which are both legal activities, are no different to any other lawful countryside pursuits like dog walking or mountain biking. Wild mammals are no more at risk from the hounds carrying out their lawful activities than they are from any other dogs.”

Tory members questioned the campaigners’ evidence and described the notice of motion as “utterly ridiculous”. They said there was “a danger of prohibiting lawful behaviour”, before claiming there was a “hint of the class war about it”.

After an hour of fierce debate in County Hall’s council chamber, its chairman Cllr Andrew Williams said the proposal would be “largely ineffective and unenforceable”.

He said those behind the proposal were trying to get the council involved in gestures and gimmicks that had no actual meaning.

The Ripon councillor added: 

“It’s a very slippery slope when we start imposing majority will preventing minorities from exercising perfectly legitimate legal rights. I point you to how Germany ended up in the 1930s when it went down a route of imposing majority will as opposed to minorities.

“It is for parliament to change law, not elected councillors.”

Row over Ripon ‘Tory puppet’ councillor continues

The row over Ripon independent councillor Andrew Williams’ decision to align himself with the Conservatives on North Yorkshire Council continued at a meeting last night.

North Yorkshire’s Conservatives recently revealed that three independent councillors have formed a new Conservatives and Independents group to avoid the risk of the party losing overall control.

One of the councillors to join the alliance is Ripon Minster & Moorside councillor Andrew Williams, who was elected as a Ripon Independent in May 2022 with 1,453 votes.

Cllr Williams told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last week that he made the decision in the best interests of the city and to ensure stability on the council.

But the move has not been popular with everyone in the city as Liberal Democrat councillor for Ripon Ure Bank & Spa, Barbara Brodigan, then accused Cllr Williams of being a “Tory puppet” and under the control of council leader Carl Les.

Both councillors also sit on Ripon City Council and at the town hall yesterday evening Cllr Brodigan argued that opposition parties already offer a stable alternative to the Conservatives before taking a veiled swipe at Cllr Williams’ decision.

Cllr Brodigan said: 

“All opposition groups — Lib Dems, Labour, Greens — on North Yorkshire work together regularly. That’s stability.

“On a personal level I was elected as a Liberal Democrat by my residents and I remain so. I sit in my group and I vote with my Liberal Democrat colleagues.”

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In response, Cllr Williams referred to the recent resignations of Harrogate councillor Michael Schofield from the Liberal Democrats and Scarborough councillor Tony Randerson from Labour and said opposition parties “seem unable to put together an alternative, constructive administration”.

He added: 

“I was born here, educated here and have resided here all my life. The decision I took to join the Independents and Conservative group is to ensure a stable administration for North Yorkshire and to get a fair deal in Ripon.

“I remain independent and can vote on every issue that comes before North Yorkshire Council according to my conscience and will always do so. I have not and never will be a Tory puppet.

“Cllr Brodigan, I can assure you that nobody has their hand up my backside, the least of all the leader of the council.”

Ripon councillor rejects ‘Tory puppet’ accusations

Ripon independent councillor Andrew Williams has defended his decision to align himself with the Conservatives on North Yorkshire Council.

Last week, North Yorkshire’s Conservatives revealed that three independent councillors will form a Conservatives and Independents group to avoid the risk of the party losing overall control of the authority.

This is because the balance of power was finely poised with the Tories having 45 councillors — the same number as the opposition parties and independents when combined.

One of the councillors to join the alliance is Ripon Minster & Moorside councillor Andrew Williams, who was elected as a Ripon Independent in May 2022 with 1,453 votes.

But his decision was criticised by the Liberal Democrat councillor for Ripon Ure Bank & Spa, Barbara Brodigan, who told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Cllr Williams had put party politics before the residents of Ripon and will now be a “Tory puppet” on the authority.

During last year’s election the Conservative candidate in Cllr Williams’ division registered only 334 votes and Cllr Brodigan said the the move was a “betrayal of the residents” who voted for him as an independent.

However, Cllr Williams defended his decision in an interview with the LDRS this morning and said the move was necessary to maintain stability on the council.

He argued his independence will be maintained and that residents voted for him to put the interests of Ripon first.

Cllr Williams said:

“There needs to be stability and governance on the council. With a £30 million budget shortfall to resolve and local government reorganisation in its infancy, the last thing that’s needed is complete chaos in the council chamber.

“That would suit the the Lib Dems fine, but it doesn’t do anything for local residents. I haven’t agreed to do anything else. The only commitment I’ve made is to join a group for the stable governance of North Yorkshire.

“Residents knew by voting independent I wouldn’t run the council, I would work to secure the best deal for Ripon.

“I will take each issue as it comes to council, my views of the world haven’t altered. I remain independent and not a member of any political party. I believe there’s an opportunity to influence the decision-making process in Ripon’s favour and I’ll press Ripon’s case as a consequence.“

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Cllr Williams is also the leader of Ripon City Council which has put in a bid to run the city’s market square and town hall under North Yorkshire Council’s “double-devolution” pilot scheme. A decision on which bids are successful is expected next year.

Cllr Brodigan accused Cllr Williams of “taking the Tory shilling” but he denied that any formal deal had been agreed that would see Ripon City Council’s bid being chosen in return for supporting the Conservatives in Northallerton.

He added:

“It’s in Ripon’s best interests to have a councillor that can influence in Ripon’s favour. We have any number of issues that need addressing. I believe this is the best way of doing that rather than in isolation.“

Cllr Williams, who was a Liberal Democrat councillor on Harrogate Borough Council during the 1990s, described Cllr Brodigan’s criticism as “hypocrisy“.

He said:

“The hypocrisy of the Lib Dems to complain about somebody seeking to work with others to deliver for the local community is astounding as they are a party that believes in PR [proportional representation] and the inevitable necessity for a coalition of different political views for the benefit of local residents.

“I won’t take lectures off any Lib Dem. They sacrificed every principle they had in 2010 to enter the coalition. I have not sacrificed one single commitment to residents by joining the group.“