Shock twist in controversial saga of Ripon Cathedral's £8m annex plans
A long-running controversy over £8 million plans to expand Ripon Cathedral which has seen even Dame Judi Dench enter the debate has taken a sudden twist.
After years of battling to secure permission to over to construct a two-storey annexe on public land known as Minster Gardens, housing toilets for the cathedral as well as a cafe and a song school, Ripon Cathedral has withdrawn its plans.
But the statement issued by The Very Reverend John Dobson, Dean of Ripon suggests this will involve a pause to hostilities, rather than the end of the war which has pitted the desire to create a new ‘Cathedral Quarter’ to boost visitors numbers to the ancient city against a vociferous campaign to save trees from the axe.
A statement from The Very Reverend John Dobson, Dean of Ripon
(Withdrawal of Ripon Cathedral’s planning application for annexe)
"The Chapter of Ripon Cathedral has this week taken the decision to withdraw the current planning application for its proposed annexe on the north side of the cathedral.
"While the need for the facilities which the proposed new building would deliver grows ever more urgent, we believe, as we always have, that our development must be part of a wider agreed plan for the city.
"This includes creating a ‘Cathedral Quarter’, which would deliver wider benefits to the city and county.
"Despite comments to the contrary, the financial sustainability of Ripon Cathedral cannot be taken for granted – and this has been highlighted recently by the current situation of some other cathedrals in England.
"As a result, central to the development of our plans for the annexe has been a belief that we were working within the Neighbourhood Plan (adopted after a local referendum) to create that Cathedral Quarter.
"However, we were saddened that Ripon City Council did not support the proposed annex in its December meeting, despite the many eloquent arguments placed before them and the amendments that had been made to retain the beech tree
"We look to working constructively with North Yorkshire Council and Ripon City Council on how the essential needs of the cathedral can be met and will be asking them to share their vision for how the Cathedral Quarter will be developed."
In response to the news, a spokesperson for the Save Our Trees campaign, which has fiercely opposed Ripon Cathedral’s £8m plans and won Dame Judi Dench’s backing, said:
“The announcement of Ripon Cathedral withdrawing their application is very welcome.
"It is a vindication for campaigners who have tirelessly fought for the past two years to protect the local park against a large development and developer.
"In a sense, it is unfortunate that the proposal has not been rejected by the council but has been withdrawn by the applicant, which avoids the scrutiny of the Planning Councillors.
"We hope that this does not mean a renewed attempt once the media spotlight moves on.
"We cautiously welcome the further amendment of the plans but also note that this move might simply be an attempt to render the large, significant petition invalid.
"We hope, instead, that this signals a genuine commitment for the Cathedral to work more closely with the City of Ripon and to listen to the local community.
"We would not like to be back here in a year's time.”