Incredible Dales volunteers secure Ripley Town Hall's future for community with £400k buyout
There’s been remarkable success for a £400,000 community effort to buy one of the most important venues in the Yorkshire Dales.
Stalwart volunteer Andy Herrington says members of Ripley Star Club have now completed on the Grade II listed Ripley Town Hall after raising enough money for the purchase price of £400,000 and stamp duty of £9,500 as well as solicitors’ fees.
It’s an incredible result for a 12-month saga which has seen Dales residents who wanted to ensure the future of this historic building for use by the whole community rally round in a magnificent manner in challenging times.
Mr Herrington, who has played a key part in the success of live music in Ripley for 20 years, bringing music legends to Ripley Town Hall including The Yardbirds, Steve Cropper, Paul Jones, Georgie Fame, The Animals and more, said: “Support for our fundraising campaign has been fantastic with particular thanks going to The Heritage Lottery Fund and our principal benefactor Peter Turton.
“Hopefully, the building is now secure for community use, including live music, community groups and schools, for the years ahead.
"But we are still funding for essential repairs to the building such as pointing and joinery.”
The sale of Ripley Town Hall came after Sir Thomas and Lady Ingilby announced their intention to sell the Ripley Castle estate 18 months ago.
The financial campaign to raise the funds to take over this much-loved venue, which was built in 1854, went well from the beginning but there have been setbacks along the way.
Earlier in the year Andy Herrington reported that changes at a national level were threatening to derail their efforts.
“Initially the project seemed straight forward as we were a good fit for the Government's Community Purchase Fund and we quickly obtained approval in principle for a grant of £250,000,” said Mr Herrington.
"With the change in Government came a change in financial priorities and the scheme was cancelled leaving us with a quarter of a million pounds to find!”
If you would like to contribute to essential repairs at Ripley Town Hall, contact Andy Herrington at [email protected].