A Harrogate councillor has claimed Ripon City Council’s bid to take control of the city’s town hall and market square is a “done deal” despite the process not being completed yet.

At a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council in Northallerton today, Cllr Chris Aldred, who represents High Harrogate & Kingsley for the Liberal Democrats, asked Conservative council leader Carl Les why he was recently quoted in local media saying he “would be amazed” if Ripon wasn’t selected for the double devolution pilot — even though final recommendations are still to be brought before councillors.

Cllr Les’s comments, which were made to the Stray Ferret earlier this month. followed the decision by independent Ripon Minster & Moorside councillor Andrew Williams to join a new Independents and Conservatives group on NYC.

Cllr Williams, who is also leader of Ripon City Council, has previously denied a deal has been struck with the Tories to shore-up the party’s control in Northallerton in return for Ripon being selected in the pilot.

Cllr Aldred said: 

“Care to expand on your apparent certainty that Ripon City Council will be successful in its bid? On what criteria? Is it in fact, a done deal?”

Cllr Les responded: 

“Chris, I think you’re seeing conspiracies where there are none.”

He added:

“I can confirm Ripon City Council has a bid and an officer panel is in the process of evaluating bids and a report will be brought forward to the executive in August.

“I have not and will not be involved in evaluation of bids. My comments were in recognition of track record of delivery by Ripon City Council, its well-known ambition for the area and for being so quickly out of the traps. That’s why I said I would be amazed. I stand by that comment.”

Cllr Les said that 12 bids from town or parish councils have been received with up to six moving forward to the pilot stage, which are expected to begin next year.

Read more:

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• Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams joins Tory alliance
• ‘Ripon did not want a Tory and now they have one’, claims councillor

The long-awaited renewal of damaged and uneven roads that run alongside Ripon Market Square is finally in sight.

A scheme costing an estimated £500,000 is being drawn up by North Yorkshire Council’s highways department in readiness for public consultation this autumn, with the aim of being included in the capital programme for 2024-25.

City councillors have been calling for many years for the sets of paving blocks on Market Place East and Market Place West to be removed and replaced with a tarmac surface.

At last week’s meeting of the full city council, leader and North Yorkshire councillor for the Minster and Moorside division Andrew Williams, said:

“I’m pleased to report, following a visit to Ripon by North Yorkshire highways officials on June 16, they have confirmed that a scheme involving the lifting of sets and replacement with tarmac will be designed and then put out to consultation.

“I understand that the work will cost about £500,000 and will be included in next year’s capital programme.

“If all goes to schedule, work could start after next year’s Easter holiday.”

In recent years North Yorkshire Council has carried out temporary repairs by putting tarmac over the worst-affected sections, leaving the surface looking like a patchwork quilt.

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Ripon councillors have given their unanimous backing to proposals for a heritage trail focused on the city’s unique military history.

At Monday’s full council meeting, Guy Wilson and Jane Furse of Ripon Military Heritage Trust, provided an update on work that the charity is doing in a bid to save buildings and bridges at the the Ripon barracks site, where Homes England has planning consent to build the 1,300 homes development known as Clotherholme.

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 Andrew Williams has resigned from the North Yorkshire Independents group after forming a political alliance with the Conservatives.

Cllr Williams, who is also the leader of Ripon City Council, is one of three independents to have joined a new Conservatives and Independents Group.

The Conservatives announced the group on Friday, saying it had been formed “to secure the stable and sustainable governance of North Yorkshire Council” in the wake of the party losing its majority.

The Tories have 45 of 90 seats — precisely half — on North Yorkshire Council following Cllr Mike Jordan’s defection last month.

The new alliance will help them maintain control until the next local elections in 2027.

Cllr Williams was elected to represent Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire Council in last year’s local elections with 1,453 votes. The Conservative candidate was third with 312 votes.

Cllr Stuart Parsons

He has yet to respond to questions about his decision from the Stray Ferret but Cllr Stuart Parsons, who leads the North Yorkshire Independents group, said Cllr Williams had resigned “very late on Thursday evening”.

He added:

“The new ‘Tory Group’ just shows what the Conservative Party will do to cling on to power.

“With just over 40% of the vote they still believe that they have a god-given right to rule. Their new name also sullies the use of the word ‘Independent’.

“When a city like Ripon, which had previously returned two Tories, sent their message to North Yorkshire Council it was with one Liberal Democrat and one Independent.

“Ripon quite clearly showed that they did not want a Tory and yet now they have one.”

Read more:

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• Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams joins Tory alliance

The other independents to join the new group are Cllr Caroline Goodrick, who represents Sheriff Hutton and Derwent and Cllr Robert Heseltine.

However, they are among seven unaffiliated independents whereas Cllr Williams was one of nine members of an Independents group.

Cllr Parsons echoed Lib Dem concerns about whether discussions between the Tories and independents involved using council resources for party political purposes.

He said:

“We will be monitoring very closely.”

North Yorkshire Council has said it’s still working towards a sale of Ripon’s historic Spa Baths — almost two years after a preferred bidder was chosen.

The Grade II-listed baths was the last of its kind to open in England but was put on the market by the now-abolished Harrogate Borough Council due to the construction of the new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lanes.

After 117 years of service to Ripon, the baths closed for good in November 2021.

A year earlier in October 2021, Ripon-based Sterne Properties was selected as the preferred bidder by Harrogate Borough Council but a deal had not been struck by the time North Yorkshire Council took over the process in April this year.

Sterne Properties has plans to strip out the building to create a new hospitality facility for the city.

Ripon City Council nominated the baths as an asset of community value which gave it a window to make a bid but council leader Andrew Williams said it could end up being “very complicated and very risky financially” so it backed the Sterne Properties proposals instead.

Read more:

• Bid to retain Ripon Spa Baths for community use fails
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North Yorkshire Council declined to say why the process is taking so long and how much the proposed sale was worth when asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But the baths were previously put up for sale by Harrogate Borough Council in 2008 with a £3.3m price tag. It was later withdrawn following a community campaign.

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of resources, Gary Fielding, said:

“Sterne Properties Ltd was selected as the preferred purchaser for this vacant asset because of its positive plans for the future of the former Ripon Spa Baths site.

“We are continuing to work constructively with Sterne Properties to complete the purchase.

“As it is a commercial transaction, the value and terms of the purchase remain confidential.”

Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams has formed a political alliance with the Conservatives on North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Williams, who is also the leader of Ripon City Council, is one of three independents to become members of a new Conservatives and Independents Group, which was announced today.

The Stray Ferret reported yesterday the Conservatives were wooing independents to maintain their grip on power. This month’s defection of Cllr Mike Jordan left them with precisely half of 90 seats on the council.

A statement by the Conservatives this morning said the party had been reaching out to other members in the wake of Cllr Jordan’s defection “to secure the stable and sustainable governance of North Yorkshire Council for the benefit of its residents”.

Cllr Carl Les

Carl Les, the Conservative council leader, said:

“Each of them have put stable and sensible decision-making at the top of their agenda since the elections last May, and as such we have agreed a common purpose.

“It is important that following local government reorganisation our staff feel secure in a well managed authority with clear policies in place.

“We will work together to achieve the sustainable and stable political direction this authority deserves, as indeed we have from last May.”

Cllr Williams was elected to North Yorkshire Council in last year’s local elections with 1,453 votes, ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate, who received 334 votes. The Conservative candidate was third with 312 votes.

The other independents to join the new group are Cllr Caroline Goodrick, who represents Sheriff Hutton and Derwent and Cllr Robert Heseltine.

(from left): Cllrs Heseltine, Williams and Goodrick

Cllr Williams is one of nine members of an Independents group. The other two to join are unaffiliated independents.

It is unclear the extent to which they will collaborate with the Tories.

Today’s statement said all three will continue to serve as independents.

However, the group is widely regarded as a way of shoring up support to the Conservatives in the period until the next North Yorkshire elections in 2028.

The Stray Ferret has attempted to contact Cllr Williams for further details of the arrangement.

Read more:

• Tories woo independents to maintain grip on North Yorkshire Council
• Harrogate town council set to be formed as 66% back the idea

The playground at Ripon’s Quarry Moor Park is to close following repeated vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Ripon City Council agreed the measure at an extraordinary meeting last night.

An arson attack this month became the latest in a long list of damage and destruction wrought by vandals at the park.

Edward Brandie, who lives close to the site, told councillors:

“I called the fire brigade after seeing youths deliberately setting fire to an area of woodland and fortunately, the firefighters came quickly and put it out, otherwise It could have been disastrous.”

Last night’s meeting was held to enable councillors to agree actions required to address ongoing concerns about vandalism and anti-social behaviour at the playground.

Members of the public at last night’s meeting.

It was attended by members of the public, who heard councillors approve a radical plan involving the closure of the the playground, removal of the hut on site and development of a longer-term programme of improvements for the park.

All playground equipment and broken fencing is to be removed and trees and bushes trimmed back with the aim of creating an enlarged open picnic and recreation area, that can be safely used by families and other people who visit the site for legitimate reasons.

City councillors voted unanimously for the measures after Cllr Julie Ann Martin-Long, chair of the Alderman Spence Quarry Moor Trust Committee, said she and deputy chair Cllr Tony Duncan had been regularly monitoring the park and appalled at what they had seen.

Cllr Martin-Long said:

“In addition to graffiti on the play equipment that is lewd, crude and racist, the equipment has been vandalised and is no longer safe for children to use.

“Fences have been broken down, signs damaged and dens created on the site by youths. We have also had a problem of rats on the site because of discarded rubbish.”

City council leader Andrew Williams said he believed an area of the site was being used as a drop-off point for people handing over ‘substances’. His recommendation that the gate to the site car park be locked at 5pm each day from October onward, to prevent vehicular access, was agreed.

Councillors also agreed to a proposal by Cllr Barbara Brodigan, for Ripon residents to be invited to attend a public meeting later this year to discuss longer-term improvement plans for Quarry Moor Park.

Cllr Martin-Long said:

“We have been working closely with the police and taking their advice on how to tackle the issues we are facing. There’s no quick fix, but this area used to be one of Ripon’s crowing glories and we want to get it back to that once more.”

An extraordinary meeting of Ripon City Council will be held this evening (Monday) to ‘consider the urgent matters on the site at Quarry Moor and to agree appropriate action.’

The children’s playground at the park has been closed since March after being attacked by vandals. It has suffered vandalism and anti-social behaviour on a regular basis.

The meeting, which starts at 7pm, will be held in the council chamber at Ripon Town Hall and is open to the public, who can question, seek clarification, or make
representation to members of the council.

On June 12, councillors  attending a full council voted for the  playground to remain closed for the foreseeable future.

The extraordinary meeting will be held in the council chamber at Ripon Town Hall.

The decision was taken in private session and confirmed in a statement on the council’s Facebook page, which said that the council:

“regretfully resolved not to reinstate the playground at Quarry Moor at the present time”.

It added:

“Unfortunately the site is being vandalised almost daily. We are working with North Yorkshire Police who are responding to the regular reports of anti-social behaviour when they occur.

“Until we can plan a way forward with our partners that includes measures that impact on the behaviour at the site we are unable to commit funds to the playground.

“We appreciate that this is caused by a small minority and that it is affecting our residents using the site. We are actively seeking solutions to the issue (and) will provide a further update as soon as possible.”

Quarry Moor is funded with an annual grant from the city council and the budget for 2023-24 financial year is £15,000.

Read more:

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Concerns about the impact on neighbouring residential properties have prompted Ripon councillors to object to plans for a care home development on Stonebridgegate.

As a statutory consultee, the objection will be considered when the application is determined by North Yorkshire Council planners.

The proposed development by Muller Property Group at the T&R Williamson Business Park (pictured), would involve the demolition of existing industrial units and construction of a care home of up to 80 bedrooms, with associated parking and landscaping.

The outline planning application for the 0.61 hectare site, was considered by members at Monday’s full Ripon City Council meeting, where Cllr Julie Ann Martin-Long led the objections.

She said:

“The proposed building will be up to three storeys in height and will dominate neighbouring residential properties, which is unacceptable.

“It will also generate additional traffic close to a busy junction, with Aldi, the police and fire station and Marks & Spencer all nearby.”

The nearby Aldi in Ripon

Councillor Eamon Parkin, said:

“I’m concerned about the impact that a building of this height would have on its neighbours and for that reason I think we should object to it.”

A design, character and access statement prepared by ADG Architects in  support of the application on the North Yorkshire Council planning portal, stated:

“The building is expected to be 2.5 to 3 storeys in height to reflect the surrounding context. The lower ridge height and gable roof would be placed to the north of the site which has neighbouring residential properties.”

The statement added:

“There is a dense tree line to the north, east and west boundaries of the site, these provide a natural screen to the neighbouring properties to increase privacy.

“The trees along the boundary lines also create a buffer to reduce noise from Stonebridgegate and the surrounding highways network.”

In her comments on the proposed development, which can also be found on the planning portal, Anne Sims, North Yorkshire Council’s principal conservation officer said:

“The new building, although set back from the road side, sits much higher than the neighbouring two storey terraces along Stonebridgegate
(within the Conservation Area).

“To improve the design, there should be two storey elements, especially closer to the road and close to the existing two storey terraces and adjacent to the conservation area.”

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