Routine maintenance work, scheduled to take up to three months, has begun on the underside of the Ripon bypass Duchess of Kent bridge.
Scaffolding has been put in place under the bridge to give workers access to parts of the substructure where painting is taking place.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Council told the Stray Ferret:
“We are repainting the bridge. Work will take up to 12 weeks and the pedestrian underpass will remain open.”
In late June 2021, essential maintenance work was carried out over a two-week period, involving replacing the expansion joints and surfacing works to remove the depressions at each end of the bridge.
The work took place outside of peak traffic hours to minimise disruption, but the current maintenance activities will not impact on road users.
The bridge, which spans the River Ure, is named after the Yorkshire-born duchess and was opened by her in March 1996.
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Safety fears over plans for public art on Ripon bypass roundabout
Ripon City Council is objecting ‘in the strongest terms’ to the siting of two of the three proposed public realm art installations being planned to celebrate the life of Wilfrid — the city’s patron saint.
The council first voiced safety concerns last year about a five-metre high montage depicting the building of ancient Rome on the bypass roundabout at the junction with Boroughbridge Road.
Council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“I had a meeting with applicant Christopher Baily who was representing an organisation called Art in Churches and I made our concerns very clear to him and assumed that a more suitable location would be found for this element of the Rome to Ripon Art trail.
“I said at the meeting, that the city council supports, in principle, the installation of public realm artworks recognising the work of St Wilfrid, but not on the busiest roundabout on the bypass.”
Cllr Williams, added:
“At the June full council meeting, we looked at the plans for the artworks and found that our public safety concerns have been completely ignored and the applicant has presented what appears to be precisely the same proposal for the structure on the roundabout.
Staging in front of Ripon Town Hall for the city council’s programme of free live music would have to move if planning permission is granted.
“To add insult to injury, the plans also indicate that the proposed siting of a five-metre high bronze of St Wilfrid on Market Place, would require a re-positioning of the stage, safety barriers and associated equipment employed when we are holding free public events for Ripon residents and visitors to the city,
“The plans that we saw, showed that the applicant, without any consultation with the council, took the decision to move the stage from immediately in front of the town hall to a location on Market Square.
“Both this and the roundabout plan are totally unacceptable and we have objected in the strongest terms to Harrogate Borough Council planners, who we hope will understand our reasons for making our concerns known.”
The Stray Ferret approached Mr Baily twice by email on Monday to give him the opportunity to respond to objections raised by the city council.
At the time of publication, no response had been received.
The proposed third element of the Rome to Ripon art trail features a sculpture to be located close to the cathedral of a boat, to represent the visits that Wilfrid made on journeys involving sea crossings to visit Rome.
The city council has advised planners that it has no objection to the location of this part of the trail.
Read more:
- The safety fears raised by Ripon City Council a year ago that have been ignored
- Exposed – the charges that Ripon police have to pay in their bid to tackle crime
Ripon Civic Society looks to the future for a growing city
The phrase ‘I care about where I live’ is a guiding principle for Ripon Civic Society (RCS) as it looks to the future of a growing city.
The organisation that aims to protect and enhance Ripon’s heritage assets for the benefit of all, is currently formulating its views on the new £6 million plans for the cathedral, the city’s most important and iconic building.
Society chair Christopher Hughes, told the Stray Ferret:
“We have, of course, been looking closely at the proposals and will have our response in due course and hope that residents and visitors will look at the plans and make their views known as well.”
While the ancient building is the city’s dominant feature, RCS, now in its 54th year, is encouraging citizens to play a role in shaping the Ripon of the future.
Speaking at the Civic Day 2022 awareness and recruitment event on Market Square on Saturday morning, Mr Hughes, said:
“We start with the simple proposition of ‘I care about where I live’ and look at what this means in helping to make the city an even better place.
“By the 2030s, Ripon is likely to grow by a quarter and we need to ask questions such as ‘what do we value of the city’s past?’ and ‘what is at risk?’
“That leads on to keeping a watch over vulnerable buildings and threatened trees and how we can enhance the green, blue and natural environment.”
Mr Hughes, added:
“We are not here to say ‘no’ to development, but to encourage those who are investing in Ripon, from retail to residential, to aim for the best possible design, with use of materials sympathetic to the city’s built and natural environment.”
RCS played a key role in setting up the Ripon Museum Trust 40 years ago, establishing an organisation that has developed the Workhouse, Prison & Police and Courthouse museums as linked heritage attractions, that bring the city’s history to life.
While protecting and promoting heritage, the society also had an eye to the future when it supported the construction in the 1990s of the city bypass, which helped in the development of the Dallamires Lane employment zone, where many businesses are based.
RCS has a healthy membership of 150, but welcomes new members and those who want to attend events as non-members. Further details are available at info@riponcivicsociety.org.uk.
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Safety fears about proposed Ripon bypass roundabout sculpture
Councillors have expressed concern that plans to erect a sculptural montage of ancient buildings of Rome on a Ripon bypass roundabout could cause traffic accidents.
The five-metre high cast resin sculpture, with information plaque and lighting, is planned to celebrate Ripon Cathedral’s 1,350th anniversary.
But there are concerns it may distract motorists and cause accidents.
The cathedral plans to commission five major art works over a four-year period.
The proposed location for a boat sculpture depicting St Wilfrid’s sea travels.
Three of the works require approval from Harrogate Borough Council and a planning application has been submitted.
Under the theme of From Rome to Ripon, they will tell the story of the city’s patron saint and cathedral founder St Wilfrid.
The concept is supported by Ripon City Council, but at a meeting on Monday evening, they agreed to seek a meeting with the cathedral’s project team to discuss concerns.
City council leader Andrew Williams said:
“In principal, I fully support the artwork proposal, but I feel that we need to look again at the sculpture proposed for the roundabout.
“The bypass is a very busy road and I am concerned that the artwork with lights on could be a distraction to road users and lead to accidents.
“I also question how sensible it would be to have an information plaque on the sculpture – we wouldn’t want pedestrians to walk on to the roundabout to read it.
“Surely there must be a better location than this for the artwork.”
Fellow councillors agreed there was a need for further discussion with the applicant.
The council will write to Harrogate planners calling for the application to be deferred until this aspect of the plan is resolved.
The other two sculptures requiring planning permission are, firstly, of a boat containing figures that represent St Wilfrid on his sea travels. He made several visits to and from Rome during his time in Ripon.
This would be the first of the installations in June of next year.
The second installation, cast in bronze and standing five metres high, would depict St Wilfrid and a follower, which is planned for the corner of the Market Square that looks down onto Kirkgate.
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It is proposed that this will be in place by June 2024.
The artwork currently earmarked for the Ripon bypass roundabout would initially be installed from June 2025 in the narthex at the the western end of the cathedral, before being relocated.