'Please use your vote' - Ripon City Plan supporters urge residents to help shape Ripon's future

Supporters of Ripon’s neighbourhood plan have urged voters to show their love for Ripon on Valentine’s Day, by saying yes at the polls to give the city more say when it comes to proposed developments.

The wording of the question that will be put to residents on February 14, is, ‘do you want Harrogate Borough Council to use the Ripon neighbourhood plan to help it decide planning applications in the Ripon neighbourhood area?’

If more than 50 per cent of the Ripon residents who vote, vote in favour of the plan in the referendum, it will be formally adopted and used by Harrogate Borough Council to consider all planning applications in the Ripon parish.

Ripon City Plan committee member Richard Taylor, said: “The plan is important because for the first time in my thirty years living in Ripon, we have a coherent vision for the future of the city. A vote in favour of it at next Thursday’s referendum will send a strong message about what we residents of Ripon want to see, and will increase the chance that it will happen. Please use your vote.”

The plan’s policies cover a wide range of topics, including housing, strengthening the city centre, improving community facilities, and regenerating key areas of the city.

The plan is the culmination of more than seven years of research and consultation with residents, and it’s been a labour of love for the team who have painstakingly put it together. Their hope is that Ripon residents will exercise their vote and take an interest in the future of our city.

Committee member Rachel Wigginton said: “I joined the City Plan team part-way through, and was very impressed with the amount of work at community level that had already gone into producing the plan. We now have our own neighbourhood plan with policies and community actions which are tailored to Ripon’s issues, and will help support future projects in the city.”

Our coverage of the Ripon City Plan's policies:

Ripon City Plan: What it is, where residents can see it, and what it says

Ripon City Plan: What it says about regenerating key areas of Ripon

'Forming a second market place' in Ripon: We take a look at more of the City Plan's policies